American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Age at School Entry and Human Capital Development: Evidence from Lesotho
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 330–68)
Abstract
Evidence on school-entry age impacts in lower-income countries is limited. We assess how school starting age affects human capital development in Lesotho, exploiting an enrollment age threshold. Children who start primary school at older ages overcome initial skill deficits as they progress. They are more likely to remain in school, spend less time on economic and household activities, and obtain substantially higher total years of schooling. In adulthood they are more likely to have professional occupations and less likely to be married or have children as teenagers, become HIV infected (men), and experience the death of a child (women).Citation
De Neve, Jan-Walter, Ramaele Moshoeshoe, and Jacob Bor. 2026. "Age at School Entry and Human Capital Development: Evidence from Lesotho." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 18 (2): 330–68. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230709Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I25 Education and Economic Development
- I26 Returns to Education
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration