Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9480
Authors: Olivier Filatriau; Denis Fougre; Maxime T
Abstract: In this paper we measure the effect of entering preelementary school at age 2 rather than 3 in France. Our identification strategy relies on ratios between the number of young children and the capacity of preelementary schools observed at the very local level. This information allows us to solve the endogeneity issue due to the potential correlation between unobserved determinants of early enrollment decision and children achievement. We measure this effect on schooling achievement in primary and lower secondary schools. We show that early enrollment in preelementary school improves cognitive and noncognitive skills at age six, and both literacy and numeracy from the third to the ninth grades.
Keywords: cognitive skills; noncognitive skills; human capital; preschool; schooling decision
JEL Codes: I21; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| early preschool enrollment at age 2 (I21) | higher cognitive skills (D87) |
| early preschool enrollment at age 2 (I21) | higher noncognitive skills (D29) |
| early preschool enrollment at age 2 (I21) | higher literacy scores in 3rd grade (I21) |
| early preschool enrollment at age 2 (I21) | higher numeracy scores up to 9th grade (I21) |
| early preschool enrollment at age 2 (I21) | long-lasting benefits in achievement scores (I24) |