Enhancing Socioemotional Skills through Programs among the Informal Poor Annex 6A: Correlation Coefficients between Variables,

Enhancing Socioemotional Skills through Programs among the Informal Poor

Efforts to strengthen the socioemotional skills of poor workers to support, for example, their entry into the formal sector should reflect three considerations. First, different socioemotional skills are valued in different ways across South Asian economies, and the values placed on the skills may change as the structure of these economies changes. An increasing share of the employment in services, which tend to require more collaboration and communication relative to manufacturing or agriculture, could raise the demand for skills involving the openness skill. In addition, technological advances could change the skills demanded. Autor, Levy, and Murnane (2003) describe how the demand for cognitive skills in the US economy is changing based on changes in the task structure of jobs; Orrell (2018) argues that the demand for socioemotional skills among US employers is also changing. Deming (2017) finds that the returns to social skills in the US labor market have been growing as the US economy undergoes structural transformation. As South Asia economies adopt skill-biased technologies and automate production, the demand for different skills may be expected to evolve.

Second, interventions to improve socioemotional skills among poor workers should be undertaken across the life cycle, including early childhood development among the youngest, general education among individuals of school age, and labor market or economic inclusion programs among workers. Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua (2006) note that the most critical period in the development of socioemotional skills is ages 6–11. Acosta et al. (2017) note in a review that optimal time periods are associated with the development of different socioemotional skills. Highlighting the importance of early childhood nutrition on the formation of socioemotional skills, Dercon and Sanchez (2011), using panel data from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam, conclude that heightfor-age at ages 7–8 is linked with self-efficacy, self-esteem, and educational aspirations measured at ages 11–12.10 Using the same dataset, Sánchez (2017) finds that height at an early age—as a proxy for nutrition—impacts cognitive and socioemotional skills. Heckman (2005) finds that, primarily by supporting socioemotional skills, enriched childcare centers, coupled with home visitations, are successful in alleviating some of the initial disadvantages experienced by children born into adverse family environments.

Given the importance of the early years in socioemotional skill formation, a case can be made for poverty-targeted interventions among children, given that the income status of a child’s household influences socioemotional skill acquisition during the school years and in later economic life (Fletcher and Wolfe 2016; Kautz et al. 2014). Many different poverty-targeted early years interventions focusing on nutrition, early childhood stimulation, and education are already being implemented in the region.11 For instance, in Bangladesh, the government has been implementing a conditional cash transfer program that provides income support to poor rural mothers who have been identified

using proxy-means testing. The transfer is conditional on the mothers with children ages under 2 years participating in growth monitoring services and taking up training in parenting and early childhood stimulation.12 Similarly, in Pakistan, Ehsaas Nashonuma is a conditional cash transfer program aimed at pregnant and lactating mothers with children under age 2 years. The cash transfer is provided based on participation in immunization and regular attendance at health awareness sessions. Conditional cash transfer programs have generally been found to be effective in improving child nutritional and health outcomes (Leroy, Ruel, and Verhofstadt 2009; Owusu-Addo and Cross 2014).

Third, the incorporation of support for the development of socioemotional skills in economic inclusion programs can have a positive impact on the earnings potential of poor workers. Socioemotional skills are increasingly becoming a focus within the package of services provided to the poor in a broad range of economic inclusion programs, such as BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra-Poor Program. A feature common to all of these programs is that they are based on a core intervention (for example, a cash transfer, microfinancing, or a training activity) that involves many complementary services. Andrews et al. (2021) recently concluded a meta-analysis of impact evaluations of economic inclusion programs. They find that a majority of programs that combined several interventions had a significant impact on measures of livelihoods and poverty, such as income, consumption, and employment diversification, as well as on measures of psychosocial well-being, child education, and child health and nutrition.