On September 10, Samuel Lado, a member of EQUALITAS, defended his doctoral thesis, entitled "Essays on the Effects of School-Meal Programmes," supervised by Sara Ayllón of the Universitat de Girona and also a member of EQUALITAS.

This thesis analyzes the extent to which School-Meal Programmes contribute to improving child well-being and reducing social and gender inequalities. The paper combines a meta-analysis of existing evidence with two case studies: the school lunch scholarship program in Barcelona and the implementation of a universal, free program in England. The results show that, while, on average, school lunches have a limited impact in developed economies, both school lunch scholarship and school breakfast programs improve students' behavior, health, and educational performance. In the case of Barcelona, ​​the study shows that school lunch scholarships improve academic performance in Catalan, especially in more socioeconomically advantaged schools. In the case of England, the study shows that universal, free lunch programs increase the likelihood of mothers working.

The thesis committee consisted of Dan-Olof Rooth (Stockholm University), Carla Haelermans (Maastricht University) and Angus Holford (University of Essex).