Sign in

Jacobus Cilliers

@jacobuscilliers.bsky.social
95 followers 84 following 5 posts

South African development economist, focusing on education. Faculty at McCourt at Georgetown University. Website: sites.google.com/view/jacobuscillie…

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Todd Pugatch @toddpugatch.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Quite a week for LMIC ed research: a @voxdev.bsky.social lit on EdTech & a @geeap.bsky.social report on literacy interventions! The fun continues next wk w/ a UNESCO mtg on the Science of Learning & our monthly @aefpweb.bsky.social EdDev mtg (more on this next week). www.unesco.org/en/articles/...
unesco.org
Annual Meeting of the Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for
From research to results: The science of learning in practice
042
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
📢 Revolutions in computing have led to the rapid development and deployment of a new set of programmes to support student learning. At our VoxDevLit launch event on December 4, @singhabhi.bsky.social will summarise evidence on education technology. Register➡️ cepr-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
0126
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Andrew MacDougall @ahmacdougall.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
"China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels. " www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
economist.com
China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics
The world’s biggest manufacturer now has an interest in the world decarbonising
4306115
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 05/11/2025
CGD is hiring! We're searching for a Research Analyst for the Education and Child Well-being program. The Research Analyst will perform a range of project research, data analysis, and more related to the various workstreams of the program, Apply here! go.cgdev.org/47sQbUp
go.cgdev.org
Research Analyst - Global Education & Child Well-being - Center for Global Development - Career Page
Apply to Research Analyst - Global Education & Child Well-being at Center for Global Development in Washington, DC.
033
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
David Evans @daveevansphd.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
As the world seeks to integrate AI into teacher professional development, let's not forget lessons from previous ed-tech experiments. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Teachers used the tablets (for virtual coaching) less and less over time. by @jacobuscilliers.bsky.social et al
051
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · 17/10/2025
Wow. This is the paper I have been waiting for. Mobile apps are brain rot, with meaningfully bad economic consequences for those who overuse them.
614557
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Male internal migration in India expands women’s roles and increases their political engagement by easing day-to-day restrictions even in the absence of their financial empowerment. Read today's article to learn more:
Likelihood of woman being ranked number one to participate in each political engagement activity
052
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 01/10/2025
📆 As stakeholders gather for this year's IMF and World Bank #AnnualMeetings, CGD is hosting crucial discussions with leading global development experts, policymakers, and more. Starting Oct. 14. Learn more about the events and sign up ⬇️ bit.ly/48rfver
012
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
🦋🕊️🦋GinLy47 @ginly47.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
9036321407
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Dina Pomeranz @dinapomeranz.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
We're hiring a research associate or research manager for a project in the DRC! This is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in gaining very hands-on research and work experience in a low-income country in partnership with the local government. Also a great preparation for a PhD.
11614
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Restricting visas doesn’t lead to hiring non-immigrants—it leads to hiring foreigners. For every H-1B visa rejection, multinationals add ~0.4–0.9 foreign employees, especially in R&D hubs like India, China, and Canada. via @florianederer.bsky.social
How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled
Immigration Affect Offshoring?
Evidence from the H-1B Program
Britta Glennon
WORKING PAPER 27538
DOI 10.3386/w27538
ISSUE DATE July 2020
REVISION DATE February
2023
Highly-skilled workers are not only a crucial and relatively scarce inputs into firms' productive and innovative processes, but are also a critical resource determining competitive advantage. An increasingly high proportion of these workers in the US were born abroad and permitted to work on skilled worker visas. How do multinational firms respond when artificial constraints, namely policies restricting skilled immigration, are placed on their ability to hire scarce human capital? This paper combines visa microdata and comprehensive data on US multinational firm activity to demonstrate that firms respond to restrictions on H-1B immigration by increasing foreign affiliate employment at the intensive and extensive margins, particularly in China, India, and Canada. The most impacted jobs were R&D-intensive ones, but there is some evidence that non-R&D employment was also affected. The paper highlights a means by which firms can circumvent constraining policies and mitigate country-level risk, but it also suggests that, for the average MNC, this means is imperfect; for every visa rejection, they hire 0.4 employees abroad. The most globalized MNCs are the most likely to respond to these restrictions by offshoring, highlighting that firm capabilities—in the form of prior internationalization-shape the decision and ability to offshore in response to skilled immigration restrictions; indeed, these firms hire 0.9 employees abroad for every visa rejection. More broadly, the paper provides evidence of a push factor for internationalizing knowledge activity: artificial constraints on resources result in firms circumventing restrictive policies in ways that may not be anticipated by policy makers.
7326115
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
The Onion @theonion.com · 19/09/2025
Fearful Americans Stockpiling Facts Before Federal Government Comes To Take Them Away theonion.com/fearful-americans-stoc…
Fearful Americans Stockpiling Facts Before Federal Government Comes To Take Them Away
187104152913
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Benedetta Lerva @benedetta-lerva.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
🔔 DIME is hiring 🔔 Our fall recruitment drive is now live until October 2. Looking for RAs and Field Coordinators - 16 positions open. Apply here: datanalytics.worldbank.org/dime-recruit... I can’t provide individual guidance to applicants, all the info is available in the link.
datanalytics.worldbank.org
Streamlit
112
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 16/09/2025
The proposed FY26 budget for the State Dept’s Contributions to International Organizations leaves only seven out of 46 organizations for funding.💰📉 @charlesjkenny.bsky.social discusses what the cuts mean for US engagement in the UN, WTO, OECD, and more: bit.ly/3VN9dhs
bit.ly
US Funding of International Organizations Has Collapsed
The US Administration has made no secret of its intention to considerably reduce America’s engagement with international organizations. It has already announced withdrawal from the World Health Organi...
001
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
David Evans @daveevansphd.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
When children age out of childcare in Peru, their mothers' mental health declines. repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/server/api/c...
22112
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Extreme weather and the green transition are reshaping global conflict. Evidence on this trend explores how policy can respond. Read today's article to learn more:
021
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 02/09/2025
Reviewing interventions to prevent school violence against children w/ disabilities, @daveevansphd.bsky.social & ‪@gsmarrelli.bsky.social find: 1️⃣ Most evidence is on peer violence 2️⃣ Children w/ disabilities face much higher risk 3️⃣ Few studies track impact for them More: bit.ly/3Jwxiq5
bit.ly
Three Lessons from a Review on School Violence Against Children with Disabilities
Violence against children in schools is all too common, and beyond being a violation of children’s basic rights, it adversely affects their learning and life outcomes. We still know too little about h...
011
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Higher education played a key role in Southeast Asia’s long-run development – much earlier than most policy accounts and research suggest. Read today's article to learn more:
The share of persons born in the 1920s with completed higher education
054
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Steven Glazerman @eduglaze.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Really useful resource for RAs and others interested in doing field work in international settings, or any rigorous empirical work in social sciences @poverty-action.bsky.social just launched the IPA Knowledge Hub data.poverty-action.org
Screenshot from the IPA Knowledge Hub home page. Headers are "Research Design", "Research Ethics", "Data Quality", "Data Collection", "Data Cleaning", and "Software Guides"
134
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
🆕 How serfdom hardwired extractive institutions into the Russian economy Today on VoxDev w/ @andreamatranga.bsky.social (University of Turin) & @timurnatkhov.bsky.social (Higher School of Economics): voxdev.org/topic/instit...
voxdev.org
How serfdom hardwired extractive institutions into the Russian economy
Unlike Western Europe, Russia entrenched serfdom as an extractive institution rooted in frontier defence, as opposed to fundamentals such as land abundance and trade. To secure its southern border, th...
084
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 31/07/2025
Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one child per hour during Israel's war in Gaza. “A whole classroom of children killed every day for nearly two years,” UNICEF’s executive director said. Here are some of their stories: wapo.st/3UCiAjn
11519581485
Jacobus Cilliers @jacobuscilliers.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
This is very important work. More and more studies are showing the lifetime benefits of foundational literacy and numeracy skills.
010
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
🆕 Strengthening bureaucrat incentives can curb crop burning and save lives in India and Pakistan Today on VoxDev w/ @gemmadipoppa.bsky.social (@columbiauniversity.bsky.social) & @saadgulzar.bsky.social (@notredame.bsky.social): voxdev.org/topic/energy...
voxdev.org
Strengthening bureaucrat incentives can curb crop burning and save lives in India and Pakistan
Evidence from India and Pakistan shows that harnessing district officials’ local pollution incentives reduces crop fires by up to 14.5% and deters burns by a further 13%, significantly lowering infant...
044
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
CSAE @oxfordcsae.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
How can the CSAE Visiting Fellowship scheme help you with your research? We asked Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Researcher at the Department for Basic Education in South Africa, to tell us about how her time as a CSAE Fellow helped with her work for the Ministry. Watch👇
youtube.com
CSAE Visiting Fellows 2025 - Nompumelelo Nyathi-Mohohlwane
Nompumelelo Nyathi-Mohohlwane (Researcher at the National Department of Basic Education in South Africa) was a CSAE Visiting Fellow in 2025. We talked to Nom...
026
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Blog: Thinking Through Waste, Fraud and Corruption in US Foreign Assistance. ▪️No evidence of widespread fraud or corruption ▪️Inefficiencies mainly driven by domestic politics ▪️Some programs do fail to deliver hoped for outcomes but most are awesomely successful. www.cgdev.org/blog/thinkin...
cgdev.org
Thinking Through Waste, Fraud and Corruption in US Foreign Assistance
The US Administration has presented a weak case for its argument that US foreign assistance was so riddled with abuse and fraud that the only answer was to shut down USAID and reboot. The lists of ter...
3267
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 21/03/2025
“Georgetown University, where Mr. Suri was a postdoctoral fellow, said in a statement that it was not aware of Mr. Suri ‘engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention’.”
nytimes.com
D.H.S. Detains a Georgetown University Academic
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen teaching on an academic visa, was deemed “deportable,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said.
0139
Jacobus Cilliers @jacobuscilliers.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Delighted to announce that we have a new paper published in JREE on the sustainability of early investments in foundational literacy. tl;dr Fade-out in some skills, but emergence of new skills (English literacy). Supports "skills beget skills" hypothesis of Heckman
110
Reposted by Jacobus Cilliers
David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 01/10/2024
In a new working paper, @jacobuscilliers.bsky.social, Nour Elashmawy and I look at the use of PDS Lasso for selecting control variables in field experiments. In today's blog post I summarize some of the key findings and takeaways for applied work: blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...
blogs.worldbank.org
Using PDS Lasso to Select Controls in Field Experiments
2165
Jacobus Cilliers @jacobuscilliers.bsky.social · 08/12/2023
Breaking news! We have a new working paper out on the long-run impacts of a foundational literacy program implemented in South Africa 2015-2017 We find persistence in the literacy skills targeted by the program, emergence of new skills, faster grade progression. www.cgdev.org/blog/long-te...
031