Patrick J. McEwan

I conduct research on education and social policy in developing countries, especially in Latin America.  I am especially interested in identifying and explaining the causal impact of policies on the schooling, health, and economic outcomes of children and their families. In past research, I have explored the impact of conditional cash transfers and rural school reform in Honduras, of youth orchestras in Venezuela, and of private school vouchers and free school meals in Chile.  My work has received financial support from the the Inter-American Development Bank, the RAND Corporation, the Spencer Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.  It has been published in several books and many journals, including the American Economic Review, the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, the Journal of Human Resources, and the Journal of Public Economics. At Wellesley, I enjoy teaching courses in introductory microeconomics, Latin American development, and the economics of education.

Research