Reducing Teen Pregnancies

The effects of school-based health centres on teen pregnancy rates, high school graduation rates and students' academic performance form the focus of Randall Reback's current research. Along with Michael Lovenheim and Leigh Wedenoja of Cornell University, he has completed a new study revealing substantial declines in births to teen mothers in the United States when teenagers have access to reproductive health care in their schools.

While visiting CESifo, Mr Reback will be working on a second study of school-based health centres, examining how greater access to health care during children's early years of schooling affects their attendance rates, test scores and future educational attainment. He is also working on a research project examining expenditure competition between local school districts in the United States.

Randall Reback's research focuses on the economics of education, especially as it relates to elementary and secondary school policies. He has published research articles concerning school accountability programmes, school choice, college guidebook ratings, teacher labour markets, school finance and schools' mental health services. His co-authored study of the impacts of the "No Child Left Behind Act" on US pupils' academic achievement and interest in math and reading appeared in the August 2014 issue of American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.

Randall Reback is Associate Professor of Economics at Barnard College, a Faculty Research Fellow at Columbia University's Institute for Social and Economic Policy Research and an Honorary Associate Professor of Economics of Education at Columbia University's Teachers College. He teaches courses in the Economics of Education, Econometrics and Urban Economics to undergraduate students at Barnard College and Columbia University. Mr Reback has also served as a member of the Board of the Association for Education Finance and Policy and a member of the editorial board of Education Finance and Policy.