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on Neuroeconomics |
| By: | Lee, Yoonjung |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:344061 |
| By: | Agata Gałkiewicz (University of Potsdam, IAB, CEPA) |
| Abstract: | Random disturbances such as air pollution may affect cognitive performance, which, particularly in high-stakes settings, may have severe consequences for an individual’s productivity and well-being. This paper examines the short-term effects of air pollution on school leaving exam results in Poland. I exploit random variation in air pollution between the days on which exams are held across three consecutive school years. I aim to capture this random variation by including school and time fixed effects. The school-level panel data is drawn from a governmental program where air pollution is continuously measured in the schoolyard. This localized hourly air pollution measure is a unique feature of my study, which increases the precision of the estimated effects. In addition, using distant and aggregated air pollution measures allows me for the comparison of the estimates in space and time. The findings suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the concentration of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 decreases students’ exam scores by around 0.07–0.08 standard deviations. The magnitude and significance of these results depend on the location and timing of the air pollution readings, indicating the importance of the localized air pollution measure and the distinction between contemporaneous and lingering effects. Further, air pollution effects gradually increase in line with the quantiles of the exam score distribution, suggesting that high-ability students are more affected by the random disturbances caused by air pollution. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, particulate matter, education, cognitive performance, test scores, Poland |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I24 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:96 |
| By: | Libertad González Luna; Parijat Maitra |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of early elective birth timing on children’s health and educational outcomes, focusing on cognitive development as measured by elementary school grades. We exploit a natural experiment in Spain: the abrupt termination of a generous child benefit at the end of 2010, which led to a sharp increase in elective deliveries during the final week of December. Children born during this spike had slightly shorter gestation periods and lower birth weights (within the normal range), and experienced a higher incidence of respiratory disorders during infancy. We find that the affected cohort of children had significantly lower academic performance at age seven (in second grade), suggesting large persistent effects on cognitive development. Our results provide causal evidence on the medium-term costs of early elective deliveries, and underscore the link between neonatal health and human capital. |
| Keywords: | education , health , birthweight , family benefits |
| JEL: | I2 I1 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1933 |
| By: | Benston John (St. Stephen’s College, Delhi & Doctoral Candidate, Delhi School of Economics); E. Somanathan (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, India); Rohini Somanathan (Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi) |
| Abstract: | Cool roof technologies, especially cool roof paint, offer a low-cost, easily scalable, and low-emission alternative to energy-intensive air-conditioning for reducing heat exposure in buildings - an increasingly urgent need in developing countries facing rising temperatures due to climate change. We evaluate the effectiveness of a cool roof intervention - white reflective paint applied to the roofs of government pre-schools (anganwadis) in Thiruvananthapuram district of the Indian state of Kerala—using a randomized controlled trial. The cool roof paint reduces indoor temperatures in treated pre-schools by approximately 1.3?C. Staff in treatment pre-schools report significantly lower thermal discomfort. We also find meaningful improvements in children’s cognitive performance, amounting to roughly 6.4% of the baseline mean. The intervention has no detectable effect on children’s attendance. Overall, our findings demonstrate that cool roofs can serve as a practical and scalable adaptation strategy to mitigate heat stress in low-resource educational settings. |
| Keywords: | Adaptation to Heat, RCT, Pre-schools, Temperature, Thermal comfort, Cognitive performance, Learning outcome, India JEL codes: I21, I25, Q54, Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:358 |
| By: | Taisuke Imai; Salvatore Nunnari; Jilong Wu; Ferdinand M. Vieider |
| Abstract: | We present a meta-analysis of prospect theory (PT ) parameters, summarizing data from 166 papers reporting 812 estimates. These parameters capture risk-taking propensities, thus holding interest beyond PT. We develop an inverse-variance weighted method that accounts for correlations in PT parameters and imputes missing information on standard errors. The mean patterns align with the stylized facts of diminishing sensitivity towards outcomes and probabilities discussed in PT. Beyond this, the analysis yields several new insights: 1) between-study variation in parameters is vast; 2) heterogeneity is difficult to explain with observable study characteristics; and 3) the strongest predictors are experimental and measurement indicators, revealing systematic violations of procedure invariance. These findings highlight the promise of cognitive accounts of behavior in organizing unexplained variation in risk-taking, which we discuss. |
| Keywords: | prospect theory, probability weighting function, meta-analysis |
| JEL: | C11 D81 D91 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12334 |
| By: | Frantisek Bartos (Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands); Martina Luskova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Ksenyia Bortnikova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Karolina Hozova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Klara Kantova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Zuzana Irsova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Tomas Havranek (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | Physical exercise is widely believed to enhance cognition, yet evidence from meta-analyses remains mixed. Here we compile a study-level dataset of 2, 239 effect-size estimates from 215 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials examining the effect of exercise on general cognition, memory, and executive functions. We find strong evidence of selective reporting and large between-study heterogeneity. Analyses adjusted for publication bias reveal average effects much smaller than commonly reported (general cognition: standardized mean difference, SMD, = 0.227, 95% credible interval 0.116 to 0.330; memory: SMD = 0.027, 95% credible interval 0.000 to 0.227; executive functions: SMD = 0.012, 95% credible interval 0.000 to 0.147), along with wide prediction intervals spanning both negative and positive effects. Subgroup analyses identify specific population-intervention combinations with more consistent benefits. Overall, broad claims of generalized cognitive enhancement resulting from physical exercise appear premature; the evidence supports targeted, population- and intervention-specific recommendations. |
| Keywords: | Publication bias, Bayesian, Brain health, Evidence, Policy |
| JEL: | I12 I10 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2025_31 |