Degree Defense

Learning in low and middle-income countries: Essays in Development and Education Economics

PhD defence Michelle González Amador

Time
- Europe/Amsterdam
Address
Minderbroedersberg 4-6, Maastricht/ https://www.youtube.com/@UMphddefense
Details
Open to public

The central purpose of this dissertation is to unravel the different ways in which learning happens in Low and Middle Income countries; this, from both the students' and educational institutions' perspective. It focuses on the formation of non-cognitive skills, especially aspirations, and on the provision of education during hard times. The mechanisms through which learning is acquired, shared, and supported influence the human capital accumulation of countries, and provide insights for optimal  educational and economic development policies for their communities. I motivate this dissertation and provide chapter summaries in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 examines the role of aspirations on the education and labour outcomes of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and in low and middle-income countries. It develops a framework for mainstreaming aspirations in development policies. Chapter 3 builds on the concept of aspirations in education, and introduces us to the concepts peer networks and peer effects. It provides experimental evidence of the impact of a role model and informational video-intervention on the malleability of educational aspirations of young Mexican students, and the interdependence of the endurance of this effect and peer social networks. Chapter 4 looks at the safe provision of higher education during a pandemic. It proposes a welfare-maximising algorithm to allocate scarce testing resources, and invite healthy individuals for face-to-face learning. Importantly, welfare was defined as a multidimensional assessment that considers economic and social, and socio-emotional/psychological elements. It provides experimental evidence of the effectiveness of our resource-optimal testing allocation mechanism, and suggests that to uphold the provision of education during a pandemic it is important to prioritise needs from a multidimensional perspective. Chapter 5 continues to explore the dynamics of education provision during hard times. It explores the determinants of low-income student retention in higher education. It bridges the two perspectives explored in previous chapters: that of the students' needs and non-cognitive abilities, and the role of educational institutions in upholding the provision of education during hard times. Our findings point to the relevance of both for educational resilience, but highlight that academic resilience is primarily driven by non-cognitve skills (referred to as fitness in the chapter), directly followed by institutional action. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation by providing key findings, policy implications, limitations and suggestions for further research. 

Related content

Side Event

Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education in Africa: Advancing Innovation for Sustainable Progress

On 20 August 2025, UNU will co-host a TICAD 9 side event exploring the transformative potential of AI in shaping the future of higher education across Africa.

-

News

ProSPER.Net and RCE Members Share Perspectives on Integrating Circular Economy in Education

The role of education in circular economy was underscored at the International Conference on Waste Management and Technology.

23 Jul 2025

News

HLPF Special Event Underscores Role of Higher Education in Driving Systemic Change

The HESI 2025 Global Forum explored how higher education can foster science-driven solutions for sustainable development.

23 Jul 2025