About the Topic: Recent nationwide assessments have documented the low levels of learning in Tanzanian schools. These low levels of learning are driven in part by limited accountability in the education system, which is reflected in the frequent absence of teachers from schools. This is further compounded by the resource constraints that schools face. In this study we conduct a randomized experiment to examine the efficacy of increasing resources to schools relative to increasing teacher incentives. Specifically, we compare the student learning outcomes between four different interventions: one in which we provide schools with extra resources through capitation (or per pupil) grants, one in which we provide teachers with a bonus based on the performance of their students in an externally administered exam, one in which schools received both programs, and the control group which received no support. Overall, we find limited evidence that solely providing resources improves learning outcomes, while we do find some evidence that incentives improve learning outcomes, especially when coupled with extra resources.

About the Speaker:  Isaac Mbiti’s research focuses broadly on African economic development, with particular interests in examining the role of education policies such as free primary education and teacher performance pay programs, as well as the potential for new technologies (especially mobile phones) to spur the development process. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, The National Institutes of Health, the International Impact Evaluation Initiative, USAID and the World Bank. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.

Please note: All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results are embargoed until publication.

Abstract:

Emergency Departments (ED) are critical to the U.S. health care system, and ED closures can have a profound effect on a community.  On one hand, prior literature has documented some adverse effects of ED closures. On the other hand, it has been posited that closures of EDs could improve acute care by removing poor-performers from the market. Moreover, permanent closure of a local ED could have an amplified effect for patients experiencing time-sensitive illnesses requiring prompt intervention, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this study using nationally representative data, we explore the mechanisms through which permanent ED closure affects patient access, treatment, and health outcomes in a community.  Specifically, we compare changes in access to cardiac technology (availability of cath lab, cardiac care unit, and cardiac surgery capacity), treatment received (PTCA and thrombolytic therapy), and health outcomes (30-day, 90-day, and 1-year mortality, and 30-day all cause readmission) among Medicare AMI patients whose communities experience varying degrees of increase in driving time to their next available ED when the closest ED to the community shuts down, relative to patients from communities that do not experience any permanent ED closure.

In collaboration with Renee Hsia, UCSF.

Please note: All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results are embargoed until publication.

Summary

In this talk I’ll provide a history of the breast cancer screening controversies and discuss the new guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society.

Please note the venue is now the Bechtel Conference Center at Encina Hall.

This event is jointly sponsored by the China Program at at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) and the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).

Geostrategic rivalry and economic interdependence coexist in uneasy balance between the U.S. and China. Ambassador Fu will identify key strands in U.S. perceptions of China, frequently marked by confusion and anxiety, and China’s perceptions of the U.S., riddled by the desire for closer cooperation and suspicions over U.S.’s exclusion of China. The speech will highlight the South China Sea issue and emphasize the harmful effects of negative perceptions and the importance of cooperation. Commentary will be provided by Dr. Thomas Fingar, the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Distinguished Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, after the speech.

Ambassador Fu Ying has been the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress of China since March 2013. She is also the Chairperson of the Academic Committee for China’s Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From 1993 to 2000, she served successively as the Director, Counselor of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian Department and the Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia (1997). While serving as the head of the Asian Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2000, she was instrumental in crafting China’s comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN and for launching the Six Party Talks with North Korea. She has served as China’s Ambassador to the Philippines (1998), Australia (2004) and to the United Kingdom (2007). From 2009 to 2013, she served as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the P.R.C.

Dr. Thomas Fingar is the inaugural Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. From 2005 to 2008, he served concurrently as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and as chairman of the National Intelligence Council. He served previously as assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2004–2005), principal deputy assistant secretary (2001–2003), deputy assistant secretary for analysis (1994–2000), director of the Office of Analysis for East Asia and the Pacific (1989–1994), and chief of the China Division (1986–1989).