Social, Behavioral and Experimental Economics Seminar: Kevin Carney, University of Michigan (UMSI Visiting Scholar)
Abstract
Around 83% of U.S. K-12 schools have implemented a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, yet we have little evidence on their efficacy. We study the effects of India's "Happiness Curriculum," the world's largest SEL curriculum, reaching millions of students in grades 1–8. The Happiness Curriculum replaces the first 30 minutes of each school day with guided mindfulness meditation followed by stories and activities designed to help students understand their thoughts, emotions, and relationships. We conduct a randomized control trial in partnership with the state of Tripura following over 4,000 students for 2 years. We randomly assign grades to receive either the Happiness Curriculum, daily mindfulness practice, or teaching-as-usual. Students' math scores in SEL and mindfulness grades increase by 0.12 SD after 6 months and 0.29 SD after 2 years, equivalent to an additional year of learning. Math gains are driven by daily mindfulness practice and likely operate through improved reasoning and problem-solving. We observe little effect on measures of anxiety or depression. Our results reveal that programs targeting state of mind can be cost-effective ways to improve academic achievement.
About the SBEE Seminar Series
The Social, Behavioral and Experimental Economics seminar series brings together a community of economics scholars from three units at the University of Michigan — the School of Information, the Department of Economics and the Ross Business School — whose research aims to broaden the understanding of the social, economic and political consequences of real-life decisions and behaviors.
Top researchers from around the globe come to Michigan to present their work at the SBEE seminar series, exploring the intersection of economics, psychology, computer science and information science.
The seminar series is organized by U-M faculty members Yan Chen (UMSI), Alain Cohn (UMSI), Erin Krupka (UMSI), Stephen Leider (Ross), Christine Exley (Econ), A. Yesim Orhun (Ross), Tanya Rosenblat (UMSI), Karthik Srinivasan (UMSI) and Basit Zafar (Econ). Todd Stuart and Robin Kocher serve as seminar coordinators.
Featured Speaker
Kevin Carney
University of Michigan
Kevin Carney is a development and behavioral economist. His research uses field experiments to answer policy questions in developing countries. Current project study topics including health and mental health, financial decisionmaking, and social media. Kevin is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Department of Economics. He is visiting the U of M School of Information in the 2026-2027 academic year. Previously, Kevin was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, and he graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in Public Policy in 2022.
Contact: [email protected]