
In the last ten years, RESEP has expanded its health policy expertise to the point where it has built up substantial expertise and experience in the field. The group has differentiated themselves by focusing on the demand side, understanding healthcare from the perspective of the client. We have been involved in a variety of projects, but they have all been attempts to listen closely and anew to people’s stories – whether it be through primary data gathering or secondary data analysis.

Two recent papers by RESEP’s Martin Gustafsson look into, firstly, the historical trends between nations in children’s reading and mathematics performance and, secondly, their future projections. These are based on three international evaluations: PIRLS, PISA and LLECE.

The reduction of class size is frequently argued to be a relatively simple, cost-effective way to improve learner outcomes in a wide array of contexts. However, methodological concerns regarding the appropriate use of observational data and endogeneity have led to a lack of consensus on this relationship in the literature.

Socio-economic status and educational outcomes are strongly linked across countries and education systems. However, a growing body of research documents the existence of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds who manage to achieve exceptional academic results.