Areas of expertise
Economics of education • Education policy • Quantitative methods • Program evaluation
Biography
Emma García joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2013. She specializes in the economics of education and education policy. Her areas of research include analysis of the production of education (cognitive and noncognitive skills); returns to education; evaluation of educational interventions (early childhood, K–12, and higher education); educational equity; teacher labor markets; human development; international comparative education; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in education. Prior to joining EPI, García held research positions at the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, the Campaign for Educational Equity, the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and the Community College Research Center, all at Teachers College, Columbia University; and did consulting work for MDRC, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the National Institute for Early Education Research. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University.
Education
Ph.D., Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
M.A., Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, Columbia University
B.A., Economics, Pompeu Fabra University
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Schools are still segregated, and black children are paying a price
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It’s the beginning of the school year and teachers are once again opening up their wallets to buy school supplies
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Teachers need better professional development opportunities, more support
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The role of early career supports, continuous professional development, and learning communities in the teacher shortage: The fifth report in ‘The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market’ series
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From the margins to the mainstream: A review of Broader, Bolder, Better
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Teaching—an important job, but a challenging work environment
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Challenging working environments (‘school climates’), especially in high-poverty schools, play a role in the teacher shortage: The fourth report in ‘The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market’ series
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Why is teaching becoming a less appealing occupation? One answer is right in front of us
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Low relative pay and high incidence of moonlighting play a role in the teacher shortage, particularly in high-poverty schools: The third report in ‘The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market’ series
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U.S. schools struggle to hire and retain teachers: The second report in ‘The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market’ series
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The search for America’s missing teachers
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Teacher strikes blanket the nation as a labor of love meets economic hardships
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The teacher shortage is real, large and growing, and worse than we thought: The first report in ‘The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market’ series
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Exploring the effects of student absenteeism
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Student absenteeism: Who misses school and how missing school matters for performance
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Fixing education inequalities will require fixing broader societal inequities
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Education inequalities at the school starting gate: Gaps, trends, and strategies to address them
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Reducing and averting achievement gaps: Key findings from the report ‘Education inequalities at the school starting gate’ and comprehensive strategies to mitigate early skills gaps
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Poor black children are much more likely to attend high-poverty schools than poor white children
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Five key trends in U.S. student performance: Progress by blacks and Hispanics, the takeoff of Asians, the stall of non-English speakers, the persistence of socioeconomic gaps, and the damaging effect of highly segregated schools
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Making whole-child education the norm: How research and policy initiatives can make social and emotional skills a focal point of children’s education
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Unions and the allocation of teacher quality in public schools
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It’s time for an ambitious national investment in America’s children: Investments in early childhood care and education would have enormous benefits for children, families, society, and the economy
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Bringing it back home: Why state comparisons are more useful than international comparisons for improving U.S. education policy
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Time to End the Vicious Cycle of Inequality Begetting Unequal Education
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Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Kindergartners Lag in Reading Skills
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Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing: A Summary of the Major Findings in Inequalities at the Starting Gate
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Inequalities at the Starting Gate: Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills Gaps between 2010–2011 Kindergarten Classmates
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The Need to Address Noncognitive Skills in the Education Policy Agenda