Ulf Zölitz

Non-cognitive skills in child development

Ulf Zölitz and his collaborators have studied the long-term effects of a randomized control trial targeting socio-emotional skills in 8-year-old primary school children. The researchers studied an intensive one-year, teacher-run training program which integrated socio-emotional skills training into the curriculum. Preliminary results suggest that the intervention leads to a large and persistent boost of educational careers that remains visible a decade after the intervention. Treated children become 16 percent more likely to complete academic high school, the highest secondary school track in Switzerland. The team presents evidence that these results are mainly driven by 1) improvements in social and school related behavior and by 2) an increase in math and language skills.

Ulf Zölitz’s primary research interests are in the field of applied microeconomics. He is broadly interested in labor economics, the economics of education and behavioral economics. Current research focuses on how the university environment affects student performance and specialization choices in higher education and the labor market. He is also working on how education policy affects human capital acquisition and the trajectory of life more broadly. He is also interested in the development of cognitive skills in children.

While in Munich, Mr. Zölitz will work on two research projects. The first is related to the role of non-cognitive skills for child and youth development and will be presented in a CESifo Lunchtime Seminar on June 4. The second project develops a new approach to quantifying peer effects that are labeled “peer value added.”

Ulf Zölitz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Zurich and the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development. He is a CESifo Research Network Affiliate and received the 2018 Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award, shared with Jason B. Cook. Mr. Zölitz is an IZA Research Fellow and IZA Deputy Program Coordinator for Behavioral and Personal Economics. He is affiliated with Maastricht University where he received his PhD in Economics in 2014. He is also CEPR Research Affiliate.