Aaron Pinto, age 11, always loved math. He just wasn't very good at it. He stumbled with multiplication, fractions and decimals, refused to use pencil and paper, and made mistake after mistake as he tried to work things out on his fingers or in his head. Frustrated, at times even depressed, he couldn't seem to find a way forward. But Aaron's problems, if overwhelming, … [Read more...] about Can Games Boost Math Learning For Poor Kids?
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Young Researchers Invited to Apply for Prestigious Fellowship
The Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) invites recent university graduates and young professionals to apply to its Research Fellowship Program. Research fellows collaborate closely with a group of economists, providing support and helping generate new ideas to further the Bank's mission of promoting sustainable and equitable development in Latin … [Read more...] about Young Researchers Invited to Apply for Prestigious Fellowship
Social Environments and the Behavioral Interventions That Work
Alissa Fishbane is a Managing Director of ideas42, a non-profit consulting firm that has grown from a small project of top academics at Harvard to a cutting-edge promoter of scalable behavioral interventions with global influence. A former director of organizations dealing with poverty, health and educational issues, she works with ideas42 in its efforts to address a host of … [Read more...] about Social Environments and the Behavioral Interventions That Work
Cash Transfer Programs: Challenging the Welfare Myth
Do welfare programs create dependency? For decades, that question has roiled the United States where supporters call such programs an essential lifeline for the poor and critics condemn them as encouraging laziness and the welfare trap. Latin America and the Caribbean is no stranger to the debate, especially as it concerns conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs. Those … [Read more...] about Cash Transfer Programs: Challenging the Welfare Myth
What Can Andre Agassi Teach Us About Socio-Emotional Skills?
When tennis great Andre Agassi flamed out at age 26 dropping from No. 1 in the world to a humiliating No. 141 two years later, commentators attacked his vanity, emotional instability and erratic behavior. Agassi had triumphed in three of tennis's four great tournaments. How could he descend to such lows, where he would deliberately lose an important match, bad-mouth other … [Read more...] about What Can Andre Agassi Teach Us About Socio-Emotional Skills?