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Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela.

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

Associate

Expertise: economics of education, labour economics

Email:
j.ruiz-valenzuela@lse.ac.uk
Connect:
Twitter
Website
Links:
CEP Education and Skills

Biography

Dr Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics (School of Economics, Universitat de Barcelona). She is also a researcher at the Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB), and a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. She received her PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence. Before joining UB in September 2021, she worked as a Research Economist at the Centre for Economic Performance, in the Education and Skills group. She was also the Research Coordinator of the Centre for Vocational Education Research at the LSE. She previously worked as a consultant for the Economics directorate of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and as a Junior Economist at the Bank of Spain.

Current areas of research include:

  • Economics of education: high stake exams; value-added of post-16 Further Education Institutions; gender gaps in education; adult education
  • Labour economics: intergenerational transmission of labour market shocks
  • Gender economics: consequences of family policies for child outcomes and labour market outcomes

Publications

CEP discussion papers
Paternity leave and child development

We study the effect of paternity leave on early child development. We collect survey data on 5,000 children under age six in Spain and exploit several extensions of paternity leave that took place between 2017 and 2021. ... Read more...

Lidia Farre, Libertad Gonzalez, Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

31 July 2024

Blog
Youth custody: who ends up there and how does it affect their later lives?

There are severe long-term consequences for young people in the UK who spend time in youth custody, the majority of whom are boys. Those with very low grades, in special education facilities and with additional education... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

31 October 2023

Blog
Uncovering the association between school qualifications and youth custody

Youth custody has severe long-term consequences for detained young people. Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela investigate the relationship between GCSE qualifications and youth custody, and find t... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

30 August 2023

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
School qualifications and youth custody

Youth custody has severe long-term consequences for detained young people. Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela investigate the relationship between GCSE qualifications and youth custody, and find t... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

20 June 2023

Journal article
Where versus what: college value-added and returns to field of study in further education

We use administrative records on educational and labor market trajectories to estimate the value-added of English further education colleges in terms of educational and labor market outcomes and earnings returns to diffe... Read more...

Esteban M. Aucejo, Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

15 May 2023

Journal article
Labour market shocks and parental investments during the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper studies spill-over effects of parental labour market shocks at two time points in the Covid-19 crisis: right after its onset in April 2020, and in January 2021. We use rich data from the UK to look at the cons... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

08 February 2023

CEP occasional papers
School qualifications and youth custody

A very small number of young people enter youth custody between age 16 and 18 (about 4 in 1000 males), yet the consequences are severe. They spend an average of 7 months in youth custody and such incarceration has been r... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

12 January 2023

CEP discussion papers
The making of civic virtues: a school-based experiment in three countries

With the rise of polarization and extremism, the question of how best to transmit civic virtues across generations is more acute than ever. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that schools can be the place for this tra... Read more...

Simon Briole, Marc Gurgand, Eric Maurin, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and Daniel Santin

22 February 2022

Journal article - forthcoming
Work and children in Spain: challenges and opportunities for equality between men and women

Over the past decades, Spain has seen a striking convergence between women’s and men’s participation in the labour market. However, this convergence has stalled since the early 2010s. We show that women still fare worse ... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

04 October 2021

Journal article - forthcoming
The Effects of Parental Job Loss on Children’s Outcomes

Severe economic downturns are typically characterized by a high incidence of job losses. The available evidence suggests that job losers suffer short-run earning losses that persist in the long run, are more likely to re... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

31 August 2021

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
The motherhood penalty for working women in Spain

Spain has seen a huge influx of women into the workplace in recent decades, but their experiences of work remain very different from those of men. As Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela explain, there is scope for... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

15 June 2021

Blog
Retraining: which are the best policies for getting people back to work?

Many people are expected to lose their jobs in the aftermath of the pandemic. Retraining will be one important way to get them back into work. Chiara Cavaglia, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela show there is a good... Read more...

Chiara Cavaglia, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

03 June 2021

Blog
Work and children: is the motherhood penalty in Spain too high for working women?

Spain has seen a huge influx of women into the workplace, but men and women's experiences of work remain very different. Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela say there is scope for new family-friendly policies to h... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

12 March 2021

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
In brief... Losses in lockdown: jobs, income, education and mental health

During the pandemic, many parents have had to cope with losing their jobs or part of their income at the same time as they are obliged to manage home schooling. Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 March 2021

Blog
What happened when parents lost their jobs during lockdown?

Many parents had to cope with losing their jobs or part of their income at the same time as they were forced to home school. How did this affect their children's learning and their mental health? Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isp... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

21 December 2020

CEP Covid-19 analyses
Labour market shocks during the Covid-19 pandemic: inequalities and child outcomes

We study the effect of negative labour market shocks borne by parents during the Covid-19 crisis on resource and time investments in children and the channels through which negative labour market shocks experienced by pa... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

18 December 2020

CVER Research Papers
Gender, achievement, and subject choice in English education

In common with other OECD countries, there is a gender gap in educational achievement in England favouring girls. This carries through to tertiary education. On the other hand, boys are far more likely to engage in STEM ... Read more...

Chiara Cavaglia, Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

20 October 2020

Journal article
Entry through the narrow door: the costs of just failing high stakes exams

In many countries, important thresholds in examinations act as a gateway to higher levels of education and/or improved employment prospects. This paper examines the consequences of just failing a particularly important h... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 October 2020

Journal article
Job loss at home: children's school performance during the Great Recession

This paper studies the intergenerational impact of parental job loss on school performance during the Great Recession in Spain. Collecting data through parental surveys in a school in the province of Barcelona, I obtain ... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 September 2020

Blog
What you study vs where you study: how FE choices affect earnings and academic achievement

Read more...

Esteban M. Aucejo, Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

25 June 2020

CVER Research Papers
Where versus What: College Value-Added and Returns to Field of Study in Further Education

Enrolling in vocational education and training programs constitutes a natural response to the current dynamics of the labour market, which is being reshaped by routinisation, automation, and outsourcing. We estimate the ... Read more...

Esteban M. Aucejo, Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

23 June 2020

Journal article
Gender, achievement, and subject choice in English education

In common with other OECD countries, there is a gender gap in educational achievement in England favouring girls. This carries through to tertiary education. On the other hand, boys are far more likely to engage in STEM ... Read more...

Chiara Cavaglia, Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 February 2020

Journal article
Intergenerational effects of employment protection reforms

Job insecurity has worsened in most OECD countries in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Using Labour Force Survey data, I estimate the link between parental job insecurity (as measured by the contract type held by pa... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 January 2020

Journal article
Reprint of: Teaching assistants, computers and classroom management

Many students still leave school without a good grasp of basic literacy, despite the negative implications for future educational and labour market outcomes. We evaluate how resources may be used within classrooms to rei... Read more...

Helen Johnson, Sandra McNally, Heather Rolfe, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Robert Savage, Janet Vousden and Clare Wood

01 August 2019

Journal article
Teaching assistants, computers and classroom management

Many students still leave school without a good grasp of basic literacy, despite the negative implications for future educational and labour market outcomes. We evaluate how resources may be used within classrooms to rei... Read more...

Helen Johnson, Sandra McNally, Heather Rolfe, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Robert Savage, Janet Vousden and Clare Wood

01 June 2019

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
Improving literacy through teaching assistants

Teaching assistants are employed in most primary schools in England, but until now, little has been known about what contribution they make to educational outcomes. Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela assess the i... Read more...

Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

02 November 2018

CEP discussion papers
Teaching assistants, computers and classroom management: evidence from a randomised control trial

Many students still leave school without a good grasp of basic literacy, despite the negative implications for future educational and labour market outcomes. We evaluate a programme that involves changing how resources a... Read more...

Helen Johnson, Sandra McNally, Heather Rolfe, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Robert Savage, Janet Vousden and Clare Wood

01 August 2018

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
Costs of just failing high-stakes exams

School students who narrowly fail to achieve a grade C in their GCSE English exam at age 16 pay a high price, according to research by Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and colleagues. Their study concludes that young people are n... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

29 June 2018

CVER Research Papers
Entry through the narrow door: the costs of just failing high stakes exams

In many countries, important thresholds in examinations act as a gateway to higher levels of education and/or good employment prospects. This paper examines the consequences of just failing a key high stakes national exa... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

13 April 2018

Blog
Missing the mark at GCSE English: the costly consequences of just failing to get a grade C

School students who narrowly fail to achieve a grade C in their GCSE English exam pay a high price, according to new research by Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela. Getting above or failing to re... Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

13 April 2018

Blog
How much do college principals matter?

CVER's Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, along with Camille Terrier and Clémentine Van Effenterre have been looking at evidence from Further Education Colleges in England, and ask How much do college principals matter? The past ... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Camille Terrier and Clémentine Van Effenterre

19 December 2017

CVER Briefing Note
Effectiveness of CEOs in the public sector: evidence from further education institutions

Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Camille Terrier and Clémentine Van Effenterre

19 December 2017

Journal article
Post-Compulsory Education in England: Choices and Implications

Most students do not follow the ‘academic track’ (i.e. A-levels) after leaving school and only about a third of students go to university before the age of 20. Yet progression routes for the majority that do not take thi... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and Guglielmo Ventura

01 May 2017

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
Post-16 educational choices in England

Well under half of young people in England complete A-levels, yet the baffling array of qualifications available for their peers is rarely discussed. Sandra McNally, director of the newly established Centre for Vocationa... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and Guglielmo Ventura

04 October 2016

CVER Research Papers
Post-compulsory education in England: choices and implications

Most students do not follow the 'academic track' (i.e. A-levels) after leaving school and only about a third of students go to university before the age of 20. Yet, progression routes for the majority that do not take th... Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and Guglielmo Ventura

08 July 2016

CentrePiece - The magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance
In brief... Parental job loss: the impact on children's school performance

Unemployment is bad news not just for the individuals who lose their jobs but also for their families. Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela examines this underemphasised cost of economic downturns by measuring the impact of parental ... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

06 November 2015

CEP discussion papers
Job loss at home: children's school performance during the great recession in Spain

This paper studies the effect of parental job loss on children's school performance during the Great Recession in Spain, using an original panel dataset for students observed since the beginning of the crisis in a school... Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

01 July 2015

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