Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Intergenerational Investment*

Abstract

Using a randomized controlled trial, we study whether a negotiation skills training can improve girls’ educational outcomes in a low-resource environment. We find that a negotiation training given to eighth-grade Zambian girls significantly improved educational outcomes over the next three years, and these effects did not fade out. To better understand mechanisms, we estimate the effects of two alternative treatments. Negotiation had much stronger effects than an informational treatment, which had no effect. A treatment designed to have more traditional girls’ empowerment effects had directionally positive but insignificant educational effects. Relative to this treatment, negotiation increased enrollment in higher-quality schooling and had larger effects for high-ability girls. These findings are consistent with a model in which negotiation allows girls to resolve incomplete contracting problems with their parents, yielding increased educational investment for those who experience sufficiently high returns. We provide evidence for this channel through a lab-in-the-field game and follow-up survey with girls and their guardians.

Tracing the Labor Absorption Rate in the Medium and Large Industrial Sectors

“…This research is in line with the theory put forward by Ashraf et al, (2020) which states that increasing the number of business units will increase the amount of output produced so that employment will increase and will reduce unemployment. This is in line with research conducted by Azoulay et al, (2019) and Tri (2004) which states that in relation to labor absorption it is influenced by the number of business units.…”

Pathways out of Extreme Poverty: Tackling Psychosocial and Capital Constraints with a Multi-Faceted Social Protection Program in Niger

“…It was supported by emerging research on the benefits of non-cognitive or soft skills trainings. Teaching soft skills such as self-worth, interpersonal communication, and sense of control have been shown to promote a range of positive life outcomes, including improved productivity, earnings, health, and educational outcomes (Acevedo et al, 2017;Adhvaryu, Kala, and Nyshadham, 2018;Blattman, Jamison, and Sheridan, 2017;Ashraf et al, 2020;Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua, 2006). Several studies have found soft skills trainings to be as or more effective in boosting employment and entrepreneurial outcomes compared to hard skills or technical trainings Barrera-Osorio, Kugler, and Silliman, 2020).…”

Gender Gaps in Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills: Roles of SES and Gender Attitudes

“…Third, we pay close attention to the role of gender attitudes in cognitive and noncognitive aspects of skill accumulation. Recent experimental papers focus on identifying interventions that improve negotiation skills among adolescent girls in Zambia (Ashraf et al, 2020), promote gender attitudes among adolescents in Haryana (Dhar et al, 2018), and promote agency among adolescent girls in Rajasthan (Edmonds et al, 2019). The extent to which improvements in gender attitudes will translate to real economic gains for females in part depends on the role of gender attitudes in improving cognitive and noncognitive skills in low-and middle-income countries.…”