Working Paper: NBER ID: w20965
Authors: Orazio Attanasio; Sarah Cattan; Emla Fitzsimons; Costas Meghir; Marta Rubio Codina
Abstract: We examine the channels through which a randomized early childhood intervention in Colombia led to significant gains in cognitive and socio-emotional skills among a sample of disadvantaged children aged 12 to 24 months at baseline. We estimate the determinants of parents' material and time investments in these children and evaluate the impact of the treatment on such investments. We then estimate the production functions for cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The effects of the program can be explained by increases in parental investments, emphasizing the importance of parenting interventions at an early age.
Keywords: human capital; early childhood intervention; parental investments; cognitive skills; socioemotional skills
JEL Codes: H31; I24; I25; I28; I3; J38; O1; O15; O54
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Intervention (D74) | Parental Investments (J13) |
| Parental Investments (J13) | Child Skills (J13) |
| Intervention (D74) | Child Skills (J13) |
| Child Skills (J13) | Parental Investments (J13) |