Middle-run impacts of comprehensive early childhood interventions: Evidence from a pioneer program in Chile

Arbeitspapier

This paper analyzes the impact of comprehensive and universal early childhood development programs on outcomes in middle childhood. I exploit the birth eligibility cutoff of a pioneer intervention of this type in Chile and use administrative data on grade point averages, standardized test scores, and an extensive early childhood development survey. Program exposure raises standardized math scores by 1.8 percent of a standard deviation, standardized reading scores by 4.0 percent of a standard deviation and grade point averages by 0.03 percent of a standard deviation. However, the effect is less pronounced for girls and socioeconomically vulnerable children. Impacts on several other child development outcomes also differ by gender and socioeconomic status. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that targeted programs might be more cost-effective than comprehensive programs.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ifo Working Paper ; No. 384

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education and Inequality ; Education: Government Policy ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
• Subject: Education and inequality ; government policy ; children ; human capital

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Rude, Britta
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2022

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/266601
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET