We use unique data to estimate the determinants of cognitive ability among 14 to 17 year olds in Senegal. Unlike standard school-based samples, tests were administered to current students as well as to children no longer - or never - enrolled. Years of schooling strongly affects cognitive...

We use the natural experiment of twins at first birth to estimate the effects of unplanned fertility on the nutritional status and school enrollment of children in Romania, a country with a unique fertility history. A first birth twins shock has negative impacts on children's human capital...

Little is known in developing country environments about how a child's cognitive skills manifested in the first years of schooling are related to later educational success, because the panel data needed to analyze this question have been lacking. This study takes advantage of a unique data set...