We are publishing to our related researchers this newsletter for the purpose of providing regular notice of the activities of the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. While we have provided information through the Institute’s website, we now decide to publish this newsletter as a means of communicating information actively in order to provide more timely notice of the Institute’s activities, so that readers can participate in our activities and have more accurate understandings of their content.
I assumed my position at the Institute of Economic Research on April 1, 2016. My specialization is development economics, and my areas of interest within that academic domain are the topics of promotion of access to basic education and improving the health of mothers and young children.
One research subject in which I was especially strongly interested during my time as a doctoral student concerned the large-scale changes to the basic education systems that have been implemented in recent years in African nations. There are two reasons for this.
The first is because I aim to play a role in providing scientific grounding for the appropriate design of education systems by developing counties through precise verification of the effects of adoption of such systemic changes on children’s educational progress and academic abilities.
The second is because I would like to study the diverse effects of the promotion of basic education, using such large-scale systemic changes as an opportunity for natural experiment.
Since starting at Hitotsubashi, I have been working on the following three new projects:
1. Evaluation of the effects of the micro-nutrition supplementation program using Spirulina platensis on human capital among children (Zambia)
2. Analysis of the effects on children’s academic ability and non-cognitive skills of student tracking system in primary school (Philippines)
3. Verification of the effects of the change in the distance to the nearest government hospital on mothers’ use of newborn healthcare services (Uganda)
I know I still have plenty of work to do, but I intend to devote all that I can to my research. Your guidance and encouragement would be greatly appreciated.