Oliver Cassagneau-Francis

Oliver Cassagneau-Francis

Senior Research Fellow at UCL CEPEO

Other writing

The potential effects of the cost of living crisis on children’s outcomes

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The ongoing energy crisis and surge in inflation is likely to push more and more families into poverty and could leave three million more Britons under the absolute poverty line (Resolution Foundation, 2022). Parents’ purchasing power is reduced by higher prices. This not only causes immediate financial difficulties which families must endure, it may also have long-lasting downstream effects on child development. These can even persist even into adulthood and affect educational and employment opportunities and outcomes. The effects of poverty do not solely impact poor families and their children: lower educational and adult outcomes reflect a lower level of productivity, and hence a lower level of economic growth. Therefore, it is in the interests of all of society to avoid the scarring effects of poverty and ensure prosperity and growth for future generations. This briefing note explores the impact the current cost of living crisis might have on children in poorer families. We first discuss some of the reasons why relatively permanent differences in income between families might affect children’s educational (and later) outcomes, and the specific difficulty (and possible solutions) in separating a causal impact from a correlation or association. We then present some of the key evidence from studies of temporary changes in income which suggests that there are important links between fluctuations in family income or purchasing power and children’s outcomes across the lifespan with consequences relevant for the current cost of living crisis.

Recommended citation: Cassagneau-Francis, O., D. Kelly (2022). "The potential effects of the cost of living crisis on children's outcomes" CEPEO Breifing Note Series. 17.
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The merits of teacher assessment versus external exams to measure student achievement

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Abstract

There is little to no consensus in the academic literature over whether centralised, standardised exams are better for students than teacher assessments. While a growing body of evidence from economics highlights bias in teacher assessments, educationalists and psychologists point to the harm caused by high-stakes exam-related stress and argue that exams and teacher assessments generally agree very closely. This lack of academic consensus is reflected in policy: a wide variety of assessment methods are used across (and even within) countries. Policymakers should be aware of the potential for inequalities in non-blind assessments and consider carefully the consequences of relying on a single method of assessment.

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L’impact de la formation professionnelle en France: une première exploration sur les données Défis du Céreq

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Nous présentons ici une première exploration économétrique de l’enquête Defis du Céreq, réalisée sur la base des données mises à notre disposition à l’automne 2017 et dans l’année 2018. L’enquête Defis a été construite pour, notamment, évaluer les effets de la formation professionnelle sur les carrières des travailleurs. Elle s’ appuie sur un échantillon initial d’entreprises, dans lequel on a tiré un échantillon d’individus, et dont on suit ensuite les parcours sur le marché du travail, à travers des séquences d’emploi et de formation. L’enquête Defis est un panel en cours de constitution. Une particularité notable de ces données est l’appariement avec les déclarations annuelles de données sociales (DADS) de l’INSEE. Ces DADS permettent, en particulier, de disposer d’observations fiables des salaires des individus. Sur la question de la formation professionnelle (ou training), il existe une importante littérature internationale en économie du travail et en économétrie appliquée, que nous passerons ici en revue de manière sommaire. Il existe en français un bon texte de synthèse sur ce sujet, dû à Marc Ferraci (2013). D’importantes revues de littérature sont dues à Heckman, Lalonde & Smith (1999) d’une part et McCall, Smith & Wunsch (2016), d’autre part. On pourra aussi se reporter aux méta-analyses de Card, Kluve & Weber (2010, 2018) et Haelermans & Borghans (2012). Nous nous concentrons ici sur les contributions qui proposent une stratégie pour identifier un effet dit causal de la formation.

Recommended citation: Cassagneau-Francis, 0., R. Gary-Bobo, J. Pernaudet, J.-M. Robin (2020). "L’impact de la formation professionnelle en France: une première exploration sur les données Défis du Céreq." Céreq Échanges. 1(1).
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