Psychology and Economics of Poverty Convening 2024
Workers turning over paddies for drying in Bangladesh | tutul_1410 via Adobe Stock
A growing body of research is revealing new insights into the psychological consequences of poverty and its potential impacts on social and economic development. Through collaborations across psychology, economics, and other disciplines, this work is producing evidence with the potential to shape programs and policies designed to improve lives and promote well-being.
On Friday, April 26, 2024 CEGA’s sixth annual Psychology and Economics of Poverty (PEP) Convening brought researchers, implementing partners, and policymakers together to share original work in this space. This all-day event took place in person at UC Berkeley.
Agenda
Speakers denoted by italics and an asterisk. Co-authors listed in alphabetical order denoted by †. Please find a PDF of the agenda linked here as well as slides and recordings linked below.
Session 1 – Exploring Cognition: Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts
Exploring the Influence of Socioeconomic Status on Adolescent Brain Responses to Reward, Risk Taking, and Learning
Alexandra Decker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Psychology)*, Steven Meisler, Nicholas Hubbard, Clemens Bauer, Julia Leonard, Hannah Grotzinger, Melissa Giebler, Yesi Torres, Andrea Imhof, Rachel Romeo, John Gabrieli
Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Early-Childhood Cognition: The Role of Micronutrient Powder Intervention
Xuqian Ma, UC Berkeley (Health Policy)*, Renfu Luo, Lingling Hou, Yuhang Pan
Bad Luck or Bad Decisions? Macroeconomic Implications of Persistent Heterogeneity in Cognitive Skills and Overconfidence
Oliver Pfäuti, Fabian Seyrich, Jonathan Zinman, Dartmouth College (Economics)*
Session 2 – Lightning Talks
Expected Discrimination and Job Search
Deivis Angeli, University of British Columbia (Economics)*, Ieda Matavelli, Fernando Secco
Is In-kind Kinder than Cash? The Impact of Money vs. Food Aid on Social Emotions and Aid Take-up
Samantha Kassirer, Northwestern University (Behavioral Science)*, Ata Jami, Maryam Kouchaki
The Impact of a Monthly Unconditional Cash Gift on Cognitive Bandwidth of U.S. Mothers with Low Income
Shannon Egan-Dailey, Duke University (Public Policy)*, Lisa Gennetian, Greg Duncan†, Nathan Fox†, Sarah Halpern-Meekin† , Katherine Magnuson†, Kimberly Noble†, Hirokazu Yoshikawa†
**This presentation was only available to in-person attendees.**
Session 3 – Keynote Address
A Socioecological Psychology of Decision-Making in Low-Income Contexts
Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington, London School of Economics (Psychology)*
Session 4 – Understanding Psychosocial Forces: Agency, Aspirations and Social Pressure
Building Personal or Interpersonal Initiative? How Psychologically and Culturally Wise Interventions Help Reduce Extreme Poverty in Niger
Catherine Thomas, University of Michigan (Psychology)*, Patrick Premand, Thomas Bossuroy, Soumaila Abdoulaye Sambo, Hazel Markus, Gregory Walton
Keeping Up Appearances: An Experimental Investigation on Social Pressure and Relative Ranks
Pascaline Dupas, Marcel Fafchamps, Stanford University (Economics)*, Laura Hernandez-Nunez
Session 5 – Measuring Psychological Mechanisms: Challenges and Opportunities
Intertemporal Choice Bracketing and the Measurement of Time Preferences
Yonas Alem, John Loeser, World Bank (Economics)*, Aprajit Mahajan
Measures of Holistic Skills in RCTs: Review and Guidelines
Karen Macours, Jessica Williams, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (Economics)*, Samuel Wolf
