Working Paper: NBER ID: w29057
Authors: Jorge Luis Garcia; James J. Heckman; Victor Ronda
Abstract: This paper demonstrates multiple beneficial impacts of a program promoting intergenerational mobility for disadvantaged African-American children and their children. The program improves outcomes of the first-generation treatment group across the life cycle, which translates into better family environments for the second generation leading to positive intergenerational gains. There are long-lasting beneficial program effects on cognition through age 54, contradicting claims of fadeout that have dominated popular discussions of early childhood programs. Children of the first-generation treatment group have higher levels of education and employment, lower levels of criminal activity, and better health than children of the first-generation control group.
Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Social Mobility; Cognition; Disadvantaged African Americans
JEL Codes: C93; H43; I28; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Participation in PPP (H44) | Improvements in parenting (J13) |
| Participation in PPP (H44) | Reductions in criminal activity (K42) |
| Improvements in parenting (J13) | Positive outcomes for children (J13) |
| Reductions in criminal activity (K42) | Positive outcomes for children (J13) |
| Participation in PPP (H44) | Higher levels of education in children (I21) |
| Participation in PPP (H44) | Lower levels of criminal activity in children (K42) |
| Participation in PPP (H44) | Better health in children (I19) |
| Higher levels of education in children (I21) | Better employment outcomes (J68) |
| Better health in children (I19) | Positive social outcomes (O35) |
| Lower levels of criminal activity in children (K42) | Positive social outcomes (O35) |