Financial Globalization and Economic Policies

We review the large literature on various economic policies that could help developing economies effectively manage the process of financial globalization. Our central findings indicate that policies promoting financial sector development, institutional quality and trade openness appear to help developing countries derive the benefits of globalization. Similarly, sound macroeconomic policies are an important prerequisite for ensuring that financial integration is beneficial. However, our analysis also suggests that the relationship between financial integration and economic policies is a complex one and that there are unavoidable tensions inherent in evaluating the risks and benefits associated with financial globalization. In light of these tensions, structural and macroeconomic policies often need to be tailored to take into account country specific circumstances to improve the risk-benefit tradeoffs of financial integration. Ultimately, it is essential to see financial integration not just as an isolated policy goal but as part of a broader package of reforms and supportive macroeconomic policies

An integrated encyclopedia of DNA elements in the human genome

The human genome encodes the blueprint of life, but the function of the vast majority of its nearly three billion bases is unknown. The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project has systematically mapped regions of transcription, transcription factor association, chromatin structure, and histone modification. These data enabled us to assign biochemical functions for 80% of the genome, in particular outside of the well-studied protein-coding regions. Many discovered candidate regulatory elements are physically associated with one another and with expressed genes, providing new insights into the mechanisms of gene regulation. The newly identified elements also show a statistical correspondence to sequence variants linked to human disease, and can thereby guide interpretation of this variation. Overall the project provides new insights into the organization and regulation of our genes and genome, and an expansive resource of functional annotations for biomedical research

Survey of Undergraduate Career Choice, 2019

A survey of undergraduate students in England, covering their background, career intentions, sources of careers information, whether they have considered teaching and their views on teaching. The study has important implications for workforce planning in the civil service, and for human capital theory about the social determinants of people's choice of career. It is of interest to non-academic users: teachers' unions, the NCTL and teacher training agency. The findings will identify potential challenges and suggest areas that merit further investigation. The findings can also be seen as working towards a randomised controlled trial in a future project.Understanding the complex determinants of teacher supply is important for effective workforce planning. The current teacher supply 'crisis' is expected to get worse. Despite the body of work in this area the issue has never been investigated in an integrated way, as this project will. We need to know why: demand for teachers has increased, teacher supply is not sufficient to meet demand and the Teacher Supply Model has failed to predict accurately the number of teachers needed, so that targeted and appropriate initiatives can be used. Teacher shortages are at least partly created by government policies as much as by the mere increase in school intake population. Policy measures, such as raising the education and training leaving age to 18, introduction of the English Baccalaureate, changes in admissions criteria to initial teacher training, caps on intake targets for the different routes into teacher training, the level and method of funding to schools, and the increase in number and diversity of schools, can all influence teacher demand and supply. Modelling cannot anticipate such changes years ahead and these factors are rarely considered in accounts of teacher recruitment and retention. Reanalysis of secondary data suggests that the recent historical patterns of teacher numbers are not closely related to the economic and employment cycles. Therefore, current financial incentives to increase teacher supply are not likely to be effective by themselves. We need to look at alternative approaches to understand why some people are attracted to teaching, and more importantly why some people are not. Much of the evidence so far has focused on the motivations of people who are already in teaching, ignoring those who are not in teaching or who have left. Understanding the reasons for non-participation is important for policy, and this requires a consideration of the motivations and the subjective opportunistic structure of those who do not consider, or even rejected, teaching as a career. This new study will: 1. Clarify the complex determinants of teacher demand and supply. 2. Identify people's intention to go into teaching, those who might consider teaching and those who are on other paths. 3. Characterise these intending, potential and non- teachers. 4. Understand all kinds of barriers to entering teaching. 5. Review the impact of policy initiatives to increase teacher supply. 6. Identify approaches that have the most promise of success. This new study will use a combination of approaches to look at the issue holistically. We will reanalyze teacher data using various official and other sources, such as the School Workforce Census, DfE, HESA, National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), School Teachers' Review Body, Graduate Teacher Training Registry as well as government reports from 1990 to 2018. We will look at the patterns of teacher demand and supply over time to establish the determinants of teacher supply and demand, and to see how education policies may have an effect on teacher demand and supply. We will review international studies to evaluate the impact of recruitment and retention policies to identify promising ones, giving greater weight to studies with a causal or quasi-experimental design. We will conduct a survey of undergraduates to gather information about their career decisions, plans and motivations. The results will supplement conclusions drawn from the secondary data reanalysis, as well as provide further insights into the impact of policy initiatives. This study will have important implications for workforce planning in the civil service, and for human capital theory about the social determinants of people's choice of career. It will be of interest to non-academic users: teachers' unions, the NCTL and teacher training agency. Eight users,including the DfE and the Chartered College of Teaching, have confirmed support and expressed an urgency for an independent evaluation of the issue.</p

Survey of Undergraduate Career Choice, 2019

A survey of undergraduate students in England, covering their background, career intentions, sources of careers information, whether they have considered teaching and their views on teaching. The study has important implications for workforce planning in the civil service, and for human capital theory about the social determinants of people's choice of career. It is of interest to non-academic users: teachers' unions, the NCTL and teacher training agency. The findings will identify potential challenges and suggest areas that merit further investigation. The findings can also be seen as working towards a randomised controlled trial in a future project.Understanding the complex determinants of teacher supply is important for effective workforce planning. The current teacher supply 'crisis' is expected to get worse. Despite the body of work in this area the issue has never been investigated in an integrated way, as this project will. We need to know why: demand for teachers has increased, teacher supply is not sufficient to meet demand and the Teacher Supply Model has failed to predict accurately the number of teachers needed, so that targeted and appropriate initiatives can be used. Teacher shortages are at least partly created by government policies as much as by the mere increase in school intake population. Policy measures, such as raising the education and training leaving age to 18, introduction of the English Baccalaureate, changes in admissions criteria to initial teacher training, caps on intake targets for the different routes into teacher training, the level and method of funding to schools, and the increase in number and diversity of schools, can all influence teacher demand and supply. Modelling cannot anticipate such changes years ahead and these factors are rarely considered in accounts of teacher recruitment and retention. Reanalysis of secondary data suggests that the recent historical patterns of teacher numbers are not closely related to the economic and employment cycles. Therefore, current financial incentives to increase teacher supply are not likely to be effective by themselves. We need to look at alternative approaches to understand why some people are attracted to teaching, and more importantly why some people are not. Much of the evidence so far has focused on the motivations of people who are already in teaching, ignoring those who are not in teaching or who have left. Understanding the reasons for non-participation is important for policy, and this requires a consideration of the motivations and the subjective opportunistic structure of those who do not consider, or even rejected, teaching as a career. This new study will: 1. Clarify the complex determinants of teacher demand and supply. 2. Identify people's intention to go into teaching, those who might consider teaching and those who are on other paths. 3. Characterise these intending, potential and non- teachers. 4. Understand all kinds of barriers to entering teaching. 5. Review the impact of policy initiatives to increase teacher supply. 6. Identify approaches that have the most promise of success. This new study will use a combination of approaches to look at the issue holistically. We will reanalyze teacher data using various official and other sources, such as the School Workforce Census, DfE, HESA, National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), School Teachers' Review Body, Graduate Teacher Training Registry as well as government reports from 1990 to 2018. We will look at the patterns of teacher demand and supply over time to establish the determinants of teacher supply and demand, and to see how education policies may have an effect on teacher demand and supply. We will review international studies to evaluate the impact of recruitment and retention policies to identify promising ones, giving greater weight to studies with a causal or quasi-experimental design. We will conduct a survey of undergraduates to gather information about their career decisions, plans and motivations. The results will supplement conclusions drawn from the secondary data reanalysis, as well as provide further insights into the impact of policy initiatives. This study will have important implications for workforce planning in the civil service, and for human capital theory about the social determinants of people's choice of career. It will be of interest to non-academic users: teachers' unions, the NCTL and teacher training agency. Eight users,including the DfE and the Chartered College of Teaching, have confirmed support and expressed an urgency for an independent evaluation of the issue.</p

A Comparative Study Data on Early-Years Education of Children in India and Pakistan, 2020-2021

This dataset is a cross-sectional survey collected from two provinces in Pakistan (Punjab) and India (State of Gujarat). The sample included both urban and rural parts of the two countries. The dataset mainly looks at children’s learning and general life experiences in the early years of childhood (at ages 4 to 8). We assessed 1,129 children on tasks of basic numeracy, literacy, and social-emotional learning using a standardised measure of assessment, implemented at two points in time with a gap of 12 months. Also, we collected data on household characteristics, children's learning performance and a parents' survey of children's activities and learning outcomes.School enrolment of around 80% in India and Pakistan is lower than targets associated with Sustainable Development Goal 4 and functional levels of literacy and numeracy are inadequate even for many young children who are enrolled in school. This project, based on 1,500 young children from one province in Pakistan and one state in India, seeks to examine patterns of enrolment of children and school readiness by socio-economic group, family background, urban / rural locations and individual characteristics such as gender, disability and health. Attendance and progress at school will be analysed over one year, demonstrating how much of a difference school attendance can make to children’s cognitive development and health outcomes. The project aims to collect in-depth information from families and communities on their views of schools and any barriers to attendance, and conduct a systematic review of the evidence. The findings are expected to have policy implications on school enrolment, attendance and retention. The team's final project report was published on 20 September 2022, and a foreword has been authored by Ziauddin Yousafzai (Malala Yousafzai’s father).</p

A Comparative Study Data on Early-Years Education of Children in India and Pakistan, 2020-2021

This dataset is a cross-sectional survey collected from two provinces in Pakistan (Punjab) and India (State of Gujarat). The sample included both urban and rural parts of the two countries. The dataset mainly looks at children’s learning and general life experiences in the early years of childhood (at ages 4 to 8). We assessed 1,129 children on tasks of basic numeracy, literacy, and social-emotional learning using a standardised measure of assessment, implemented at two points in time with a gap of 12 months. Also, we collected data on household characteristics, children's learning performance and a parents' survey of children's activities and learning outcomes.School enrolment of around 80% in India and Pakistan is lower than targets associated with Sustainable Development Goal 4 and functional levels of literacy and numeracy are inadequate even for many young children who are enrolled in school. This project, based on 1,500 young children from one province in Pakistan and one state in India, seeks to examine patterns of enrolment of children and school readiness by socio-economic group, family background, urban / rural locations and individual characteristics such as gender, disability and health. Attendance and progress at school will be analysed over one year, demonstrating how much of a difference school attendance can make to children’s cognitive development and health outcomes. The project aims to collect in-depth information from families and communities on their views of schools and any barriers to attendance, and conduct a systematic review of the evidence. The findings are expected to have policy implications on school enrolment, attendance and retention. The team's final project report was published on 20 September 2022, and a foreword has been authored by Ziauddin Yousafzai (Malala Yousafzai’s father).</p