Wealth and the Construction of Non-Cognitive Skills. The Case of Colombia

The purpose of this article is to identify to what extent there is a causal relationship between wealth and non-cognitive skills for children in Colombia. This article contributes to the existing literature of skills formation in three ways. First, methodological shortcomings of previous works are addressed. Second, variables that have been omitted in earlier studies are included in this analysis. Third, this is first article with such objective in the context of Colombia. One of the major conclusions of the literature of skills formation, in the context of a developed economy is that income has a limited impact in this process. The results of this study suggest that might not be the case in developing countries.