Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency
- (pp. 3963-4001)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This paper evaluates the long-run effects of Head Start using large-scale, restricted administrative data. Using the county roll-out of Head Start between 1965 and 1980 and age-eligibility cutoffs for school entry, we find that Head Start generated large increases in adult human capital and economic self-sufficiency, including a 0.65-year increase in schooling, a 2.7 percent increase in high school completion, an 8.5 percent increase in college enrollment, and a 39 percent increase in college completion. These estimates imply sizable, long-term returns to investments in means-tested, public preschool programs.Citation
Bailey, Martha J., Shuqiao Sun, and Brenden Timpe. 2021. "Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency." American Economic Review, 111 (12): 3963-4001. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20181801Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I26 Returns to Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity