Published Papers

Mayer, S., Kalil, A., Delgado, W., Liu, H., Rury, D., & Shah, R. (2023). Boosting Parent-Child Math Engagement and Preschool Children’s Math Skills: Evidence from an RCT with Low-Income Families. Economics of Education Review, 95, 102436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102436

Kalil, A., Mayer, S. E., & Gallegos, S. (2021). Using behavioral insights to increase attendance at subsidized preschool programs: The Show Up to Grow Up intervention. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 163, 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.11.002

Mayer, S. E., Kalil, A., Oreopoulos, P., & Gallegos, S. (2019). Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Parental Engagement. Journal of Human Resources, 54(4), 900–925. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.4.0617.8835r

Book Chapters

Mayer, S., Shah, R. & Kalil, A. (2020). How cognitive biases can undermine program scale-up decisions. Forthcoming in List, J., Suskind, D., & Supplee, L. H. (Eds.). The Scale-up Effect in Early Childhood and Public Policy: Why interventions lose impact at scale and what we can do about it. Routledge.

Mayer, S., Kalil, A., & Klein, N. (2020). Behavioral insights and parental decision-making. In L. Tach, R. Dunifon, and D. L. Miller (Eds.) (pp. 99-118) Confronting Inequality: How Policies and Practices Shape Children’s Opportunities, Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000187-001

Working Papers

Kalil, A., Mayer, S., Oreopoulos, P., & Shah, R. (2024). Making a Song and Dance About It: The Effectiveness of Teaching Children Vocabulary with Animated Music Videos. National Bureau of Economics Research, NBER Working Paper No 32132.

Shah, Rohen and Kalil, Ariel and Mayer, Susan, Engaging Parents with Preschools: Evidence from a Field Experiment (March 22, 2023). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2022-97.

Kalil, Ariel and Liu, Haoxuan and Mayer, Susan and Rury, Derek and Shah, Rohen, Nudging or Nagging? Conflicting Effects of Behavioral Tools (January 4, 2023). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2023-02

Kalil, Ariel and Mayer, Susan and Shah, Rohen, Scarcity and Inattention (June 16, 2022). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2022-76.

Kalil, Ariel and Mayer, Susan and Shah, Rohen, Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Family Dynamics in Economically Vulnerable Households (October 5, 2020). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2020-143.

Mayer, S., Kalil, A., Oreopoulos, P. & Gallegos, S. (2015). Using behavioral insights to increase parental engagement. The Parents and Children Together (PACT) intervention. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 21602. 

In the Press

When It All Became Apparent, Behavioral Scientist, October 7, 2024

How can we engage parents so their kids show up for preschool?, Chicago Tribune, September 16, 2024

Overdeck Family Foundation Awards $1 Million to Five Studies Identifying Drivers of and Solutions to Chronic Absenteeism, Overdeck Family Foundation, August 14, 2024

10 Years at BIP Lab: Co-Founder Ariel Kalil on a Decade of Behavioral Insights and What Comes Next, Harris Public Policy, May 14, 2024

How Digital Tools Enhance Parenting, Forbes, May 12, 2024

Op-Ed: Multigenerational homes are key to supporting single mothers, Chicago Tribune, April 25, 2024

Q&A: EdTech Research Lab Director, PAW Patrol Academy, March 13, 2024

Breaking Barriers: Funexpected Math Technology Contributes to University of Chicago Inclusive Learning Research Project, PR Newswire, February 8, 2024

Unleashing Ed Tech’s Out-of-School Learning Potential, U.S.News, October 5, 2023

Young Kids in Low-Income Families Get Less Exposure to Math. Can the Right Apps Help?, EdSurge News, August 30, 2023

New BIP Research Explores Effects of Parent/Child Math Engagement, Harris Public Policy, April 11, 2023

Research collaboration to examine parent-child learning interactions’ impact on child skill and curiosity, MIT News, January 10, 2023

Little Learners, Math Skills, and a Whole Lot of Data: About TIME and the Possibilities for Parents, Harris Public Policy, July 11, 2022

It’s about time — the best ways public policy can support parents, The Hill, May 27, 2021

How can Illinois schools reconnect with missing students? Text messages, ‘putting on gym shoes’, Chalkbeat Chicago, May 25, 2021

Parents fear for their children’s mental health amid coronavirus pandemic, USA TODAY, April 20, 2021

OPINION: How technology can help parents communicate with preschoolers, The Hechinger Report, September 9, 2020

COVID-19 could erase parenting gains of the last 30 years, Brookings, October 26, 2020

Quarantine Having Lasting Impacts on Kids’ Health, WEBMD HEALTH NEWS, May 15, 2020

Intensive Care: What Makes a ‘Good’ Parent?, The New York Times, Feb. 20, 2020

Some toddlers are chronically absent from preschool. A text message can help, Quartz, January 13, 2020

Helping kids by texting their parents? Here’s what experts say about this exploding strategy. Chalkbeat, Dec 17, 2019

New research partnership evaluates innovation in family engagement, MIT News, November 19, 2019

Reading at home and school attendance shot up with a cheap, easy solution: Texting, USA TODAY, September 12, 2019

Helping Parents Follow Through, Behavioral Scientist, September 10, 2018

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