Claire Ricard

Claire Ricard is a Research Fellow at CERDI (Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International) within Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA) in France. Her research focuses on educational economics and policy evaluation in developing countries, with particular emphasis on Madagascar and Morocco.

Her research interests span Educational Economics, Development Economics, and Policy Evaluation, examining how economic constraints affect educational outcomes in low-income settings. She investigates birth order effects on school enrollment and transitions to adulthood, conditional cash transfer programs, and the complex relationship between school access and educational quality.

Her recent publications reveal important insights about how firstborn children in Madagascar face earlier transitions to adulthood with reduced educational opportunities, and how Morocco's Tayssir program increased school enrollment but negatively impacted learning outcomes due to inadequate school resources.

Scientific Recognition:

• Recipient of competitive funding from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France 2030 program)
• Recipient of funding from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (Investissements d'avenir program)

Ricard's work demonstrates the critical importance of complementary investments when implementing educational access programs. Her research shows that while conditional cash transfers successfully increase enrollment, they must be accompanied by measures to improve school quality and teaching practices to achieve meaningful learning outcomes. Her fieldwork in Madagascar highlights how economic constraints within households create unequal educational trajectories based on birth order, with firstborn children bearing disproportionate responsibilities that limit their educational attainment.