Seminar: Does healthy lifestyle in childhood improve educational outcomes?
Evidence from randomized intervention
The Centre for Health Economics (CHE) is hosting this seminar with insights from Associate Professor Jutta Viinikainen from the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics.
Using a randomized controlled trial we examine how a life-style intervention which started at infancy and continued for 20 years affects school performance and educational outcomes. We find that intervention led to better school performance and increased the probability to participate in university-level education among boys and children coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. In consequence, the intervention narrowed gender and socioeconomic differences in educational outcomes. We also study the potential pathways through which the intervention may have led to better educational outcomes. We find that the intervention accelerated boys’ pubertal development. Strikingly, we also find that the intervention decreased gender and socioeconomic differences in parental body mass index. As far as accelerated pubertal development enables boys to make long-term educational investment decisions and reduced body mass promotes parental involvement in their children’s lives these pathways may explain the reduced differences in educational outcomes between genders and socioeconomic groups. Our findings provide support for the contention that early interventions promote the equality of educational opportunity.
Visitors are welcome to attend – registration is not required.
We hope to see you there.
Event Details
- Date:
- 4 December 2019 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- Room HB.36, Building H, Monash University, Caulfield Campus 900 Dandenong Rd Caulfield East Melbourne, VIC 3145
- Categories:
- Health Economics
Description
Evidence from randomized intervention
The Centre for Health Economics (CHE) is hosting this seminar with insights from Associate Professor Jutta Viinikainen from the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics.
Using a randomized controlled trial we examine how a life-style intervention which started at infancy and continued for 20 years affects school performance and educational outcomes. We find that intervention led to better school performance and increased the probability to participate in university-level education among boys and children coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. In consequence, the intervention narrowed gender and socioeconomic differences in educational outcomes. We also study the potential pathways through which the intervention may have led to better educational outcomes. We find that the intervention accelerated boys’ pubertal development. Strikingly, we also find that the intervention decreased gender and socioeconomic differences in parental body mass index. As far as accelerated pubertal development enables boys to make long-term educational investment decisions and reduced body mass promotes parental involvement in their children’s lives these pathways may explain the reduced differences in educational outcomes between genders and socioeconomic groups. Our findings provide support for the contention that early interventions promote the equality of educational opportunity.
Visitors are welcome to attend – registration is not required.
We hope to see you there.