Research

Building on multiple administrative judicial educational, health and labour French databases, this paper aims to quantitatively estimate the effects of placing juvenile delinquents in Closed Educational Centers (CEFs). Typically presented as an alternative to incarceration when other forms of open placement have failed, CEFs aim to create a temporary break for minors from their usual environment by involving them in intensive educational and professional activities and providing enhanced, personalized supervision. Leveraging the progressive deployment of CEFs across French departments, I examine the effects of this placement on (i) recidivism and the reiteration of delinquent acts, (ii) return to education and training, (iii) employment and (iv) health outcomes. I explore mechanisms that may explain observed disparities, including peer effects.

Refugees face significant mental health challenges, with high prevalence of psychological distress stemming from traumatic experiences and migration-related stressors. These symptoms tend to greatly reduce their ability to find stable accommodation and employment. Despite critical needs, refugees consistently underutilise mental health services due to structural and sociocultural barriers such as stigma, linguistic challenges, and limited system comprehension. This randomised controlled trial investigates the effectiveness of two interventions among 2,500 recently recognised refugees in Paris : discussions with peer-helpers to break down the stigma surrounding mental health and a dedicated mental health helpline allowing them to delegate the process of booking appointments at healthcare facilities. Randomly assigned to four groups, participants will be tracked on key outcomes including mental health service utilisation, PTSD and depression symptom severity, employment status, and social integration. By testing targeted support mechanisms, the study aims to identify low-cost, scalable approaches to improving refugees’ mental health access and overall socioeconomic integration.

This paper studies the effect of a large French national programme implemented by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Interior which targets allophone immigrant parents with children in the French school system. It offers free in-school training, including French language courses, sessions on the functioning and expectations of the school system, and sessions on the principles and values of the French Republic. We build on a survey of 800 allophone parents in 150 different primary schools and administrative data to study the effects of this programme on (i) parental involvement in their children’s education, (ii) the development and learning of children, and (iii) the socio-economic inclusion of parents.

Developed by a French startup specialising in digital educational applications for children with specific needs, the AlloSchool app aims to facilitate the integration of newly arrived allophone students by providing personalised educational content, allowing them to progress at their own pace, while taking their mother tongue into account. The experiment planned to randomly allocate access to the application as well as training sessions on the application to 200 specialist teachers of French as a second language, representing around 2,000 pupils. By matching results from surveys conducted among immigrant parents and teachers with children’s cognitive test results and administrative data, we aim to assess the impact of this intervention on (i) the development, learning, and social integration of children, (ii) parental involvement in education, as well as (iii) teaching practices in a multicultural context.

This paper examines whether academic self-beliefs help explain social gaps in educational and career expectations among 15-year-olds across OECD countries. We document large SES-based gaps in expectations in almost all countries, even among equally performing students in the same schools and tracks. Lower-SES students also report systematically lower academic self-beliefs than their high-SES counterparts, reflecting lower perceived chances of success. While these beliefs are associated with expectations, they account for only a small part of the SES gap in expectations. Our findings suggest that equalising academic self-beliefs is unlikely to eliminate disparities in expectations, pointing instead to deeper structural or cultural drivers of educational inequality.