PhD Economics, University of Manchester, 1985 MA Economics, University of Manchester, 1980 (with Distinction) BA Economics and Econometrics, University of Manchester, 1979 (with Honors)
Costas is a Research Fellow of the Institute. He is also Professor of Economics at Yale University and Visiting Professor at University College London. His research interests are Econometrics, Public policy, Labor economics, Economics of education, Microeconometrics, Evaluation of public policy, Household behavior, Retirement and pensions, Income distribution, Consumption, Demand analysis, Investment and Development economics.
Estimating the production function for human capital: results from a randomized controlled trial in Colombia
| Working Paper
We examine the channels through which a randomized early childhood intervention
in Colombia led to signi cant gains in cognitive and socio-emotional skills among a
sample of disadvantaged children aged 12 to 24 months at baseline. We estimate the
determinants of material and time investments in these children and evaluate the im-
pact of the treatment on such investments. We then estimate the production functions
for cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The e ects of the program can be explained
by increases in parental investments, which have strong e ects on outcomes and are
complementary to both maternal skills and child's baseline skills.
