IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/col/000089/016855.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Center-Based Care for Infants and Toddlers: The aeioTU Randomized Trial

Author

Listed:
  • Milagros Nores
  • Raquel Bernal
  • W. Steve Barnett

Abstract

Extensive research has shown comprehensive early intervention can improve the developmental outcomes of disadvantaged children. However, little is known about the effectiveness of center-based programs for infants and toddlers; relatively rare in the developing world and typically of low quality. This paper reports effects from a randomized trial of a center-based early care intervention on infants and toddlers in two communities in northern Colombia. Just eight months into the program results indicate large positive effects on language, cognitive development and overall development, with girls benefitting the most. No effects were observed for nutritional outcomes, socio-emotional development or the home environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Milagros Nores & Raquel Bernal & W. Steve Barnett, 2018. "Center-Based Care for Infants and Toddlers: The aeioTU Randomized Trial," Documentos CEDE 16855, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:016855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/41047/dcede2018-48.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2005. "Stepwise Multiple Testing as Formalized Data Snooping," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(4), pages 1237-1282, July.
    2. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian, 2007. "The effect of a large expansion of pre-primary school facilities on preschool attendance and maternal employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 665-680, June.
    3. Unknown, 2010. "Table of Contents," 2010 Conference: Modern management challenges in the agro-food sector, March 18-19, Pivola, Slovenia 183902, Slovenian Association of Agricultural Economists (DAES).
    4. Raquel Bernal & Michael P. Keane, 2011. "Child Care Choices and Children's Cognitive Achievement: The Case of Single Mothers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(3), pages 459-512.
    5. Biroli, Pietro & Del Boca, Daniela & Heckman, James J. & Heckman, Lynne Pettler & Koh, Yu Kyung & Kuperman, Sylvi & Moktan, Sidharth & Pronzato, Chiara D. & Ziff, Anna L., 2018. "Evaluation of the Reggio approach to early education," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 1-32.
    6. Felfe, Christina & Lalive, Rafael, 2014. "Does Early Child Care Help or Hurt Children's Development?," IZA Discussion Papers 8484, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Lia C. H. Fernald & Elizabeth Prado & Patricia Kariger & Abbie Raikes, 2017. "A Toolkit for Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low and Middle-Income Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29000, December.
    8. Baker-Henningham, Helen & López Bóo, Florencia, 2010. "Early Childhood Stimulation Interventions in Developing Countries: A Comprehensive Literature Review," IZA Discussion Papers 5282, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    9. Jose Rosero & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2011. "Trade-offs between Different Early Childhood Interventions: Evidence from Ecuador," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-102/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Pedro Carneiro & Katrine V. Løken & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2015. "A Flying Start? Maternity Leave Benefits and Long-Run Outcomes of Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(2), pages 365-412.
    11. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul, 2009. "The effect of pre-primary education on primary school performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 219-234, February.
    12. Orazio P. Attanasio & Vincenzo Di Maro & Marcos Vera‐Hernández, 2013. "Community Nurseries and the Nutritional Status of Poor Children. Evidence from Colombia," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123, pages 1025-1058, September.
    13. Raquel Bernal & Sara María Ramírez, 2018. "Improving childcare quality at scale: the effects of “From Zero to Forever”," Documentos CEDE 16600, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    14. Loeb, Susanna & Bridges, Margaret & Bassok, Daphna & Fuller, Bruce & Rumberger, Russell W., 2007. "How much is too much? The influence of preschool centers on children's social and cognitive development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 52-66, February.
    15. Orazio P. Attanasio & Camila Fernández & Emla O. A. Fitzsimons & Sally M. Grantham-McGregor & Costas Meghir & Marta Rubio-Codina, "undated". "Using the Infrastructure of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program to Deliver a Scalable Integrated Early Child Development Program in Colombia: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 62cf429ea5b74678a945aa87b, Mathematica Policy Research.
    16. Cunha, Flavio & Heckman, James J. & Lochner, Lance, 2006. "Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 697-812, Elsevier.
    17. Nina Drange & Tarjei Havnes, 2015. "Child care before age two and the development of language and numeracy. Evidence from a lottery," Discussion Papers 808, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    18. Hirokazu Yoshikawa & Diana Leyva & Catherine E. Snow & Ernesto Treviño & M. Clara Barata & Christina Weiland & Celia J. Gomez & Lorenzo Moreno & Andrea Rolla & Nikhit D’Sa & Mary Catherine Arbour, "undated". "Experimental Impacts of a Teacher Professional Development Program in Chile on Preschool Classroom Quality and Child Outcomes," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 79a54e7d62e84932a7ccf2144, Mathematica Policy Research.
    19. Orazio Attanasio & Helen Baker-Henningham & Raquel Bernal & Costas Meghir & Diana Pineda & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2022. "Early Stimulation and Nutrition: The Impacts of a Scalable Intervention," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1395-1432.
    20. Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman & Duncan Ermini Leaf & María José Prados, 2020. "Quantifying the Life-Cycle Benefits of an Influential Early-Childhood Program," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(7), pages 2502-2541.
    21. Raquel Bernal & Adriana Camacho, 2010. "La importancia de los programas para la primera infancia en Colombia," Documentos CEDE 7605, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    22. Raquel Bernal & María Adelaida Martínez & Claudia Quintero Salleg, 2015. "Situación de ninas y ninos colombianos menores de cinco anos, entre 2010 y 2013," Libros en Línea 14164, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    23. Ejis, 2010. "Table of Contents," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bucharest Economic Academy, issue 02, June.
    24. Ejis, 2010. "Table of Contents," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bucharest Economic Academy, issue 01, March.
    25. Leon Feinstein, 2003. "Inequality in the Early Cognitive Development of British Children in the 1970 Cohort," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 70(277), pages 73-97, February.
    26. Michael Baker & Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan, 2015. "Non-Cognitive Deficits and Young Adult Outcomes: The Long-Run Impacts of a Universal Child Care Program," NBER Working Papers 21571, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Marta Rubio-Codina & Orazio Attanasio & Costas Meghir & Natalia Varela & Sally Grantham-McGregor, 2015. "The Socioeconomic Gradient of Child Development: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Children 6–42 Months in Bogota," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 464-483.
    28. Bernal, Raquel, 2015. "The impact of a vocational education program for childcare providers on children's well-being," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 165-183.
    29. Barham, Tania & Macours, Karen & Maluccio, John A., 2013. "More Schooling and More Learning?: Effects of a Three-Year Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Nicaragua after 10 Years," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4584, Inter-American Development Bank.
    30. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
    31. M. Caridad Araujo & Marta Dormal & Norbert Schady, 2019. "Childcare Quality and Child Development," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 656-682.
    32. Grace E. Noboa-Hidalgo & Sergio S. Urzúa, 2012. "The Effects of Participation in Public Child Care Centers: Evidence from Chile," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(1), pages 1-34.
    33. Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman & Duncan Ermini Leaf & María José Prados, 2016. "The Life-cycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program," NBER Working Papers 22993, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. García, Jorge Luis & Heckman, James J. & Ziff, Anna L., 2018. "Gender differences in the benefits of an influential early childhood program," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 9-22.
    35. Herbst, Chris M., 2013. "The impact of non-parental child care on child development: Evidence from the summer participation “dip”," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 86-105.
    36. Jere R. Behrman & Yingmei Cheng & Petra E. Todd, 2004. "Evaluating Preschool Programs When Length of Exposure to the Program Varies: A Nonparametric Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 108-132, February.
    37. Milagros Nores & Steven W. Barnett, 2012. "Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions Across the World: (Under) Investing in the Very Young," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 200-228.
    38. Bernal, Raquel & Fernández, Camila, 2013. "Subsidized childcare and child development in Colombia: Effects of Hogares Comunitarios de Bienestar as a function of timing and length of exposure," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 241-249.
    39. repec:mpr:mprres:6933 is not listed on IDEAS
    40. Muennig, P. & Robertson, D. & Johnson, G. & Campbell, F. & Pungello, E.P. & Neidell, M., 2011. "The effect of an early education program on adult health: The Carolina abecedarian project randomized controlled trial," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(3), pages 512-516.
    41. repec:mpr:mprres:7835 is not listed on IDEAS
    42. Barnett, W.S. & Masse, Leonard N., 2007. "Comparative benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian program and its policy implications," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 113-125, February.
    43. repec:idb:brikps:81938 is not listed on IDEAS
    44. Araujo, María Caridad & Ardanaz, Martín & Armendáriz, Edna & Behrman, Jere R. & Berlinski, Samuel & Cristia, Julian P. & Flabbi, Luca & Hincapie, Diana & Jalmovich, Analía & Kagan, Sharon Lynn & Lopez, 2015. "The Early Years: Child Well-being and the Role of Public Policy," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 7259.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gabriella Conti & Stavros Poupakis & Malte Sandner & Sören Kliem, 2019. "The Effects of Home Visiting on Mother-Child Interactions: Evidence from Dynamic Micro-Level Data," Working Papers 2019-066, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. María Florencia Pinto, 2020. "Pobreza y Educación: Desafíos y Pólíticas," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0265, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    3. Orazio Attanasio & Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2021. "Child Development in the Early Years: Parental Investment and the Changing Dynamics of Different Domains," CSEF Working Papers 626, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    4. Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran & Fisk, Eleanor & Cook, Kyle DeMeo, 2021. "Do child care characteristics during toddlerhood explain income-based gaps in reading and math skills at preschool?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    5. Lei Wang & Yiwei Qian & Nele Warrinnier & Orazio Attanasio & Scott Rozelle & Sean Sylvia, "undated". "Parental Investment, School Choice, and the Persistent Benefits of Intervention in Early Childhood," Working Papers 931, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    6. Wang, Lei & Qian, Yiwei & Warrinnier, Nele & Attanasio, Orazio & Rozelle, Scott & Sylvia, Sean, 2023. "Parental investment, school choice, and the persistent benefits of an early childhood intervention," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    7. Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2022. "The Effect of Center-Based Early Education on Disadvantaged Children's Developmental Trajectories: Experimental Evidence from Colombia," Working Papers 2022-027, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    8. Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 674, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    9. Alison Andrew & Orazio Attanasio & Raquel Bernal & Lina Cardona Sosa & Sonya Krutikova & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2019. "Preschool Quality and Child Development," NBER Working Papers 26191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Bernal, Raquel & Ramírez, Sara María, 2019. "Improving the quality of early childhood care at scale: The effects of “From Zero to Forever”," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 91-105.
    11. Orazio Attanasio & Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2020. "Child Development in the Early Years: Parental Investment and the Changing Dynamics of Different Dimensions," NBER Working Papers 27812, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1469, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2022. "The Effect of Center-Based Early Education on Disadvantaged Children's Developmental Trajectories: Experimental Evidence from Colombia," Working Papers 2022-027, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Bernal, Raquel & Ramírez, Sara María, 2019. "Improving the quality of early childhood care at scale: The effects of “From Zero to Forever”," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 91-105.
    3. Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady, 2015. "Daycare Services: It’s All about Quality," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady (ed.), The Early Years, chapter 4, pages 91-119, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. M. Caridad Araujo & Yyannu Cruz-Aguayo & Analia Jaimovich & Sharon Lynn Kagan, 2015. "Drawing Up an Institutional Architecture," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady (ed.), The Early Years: Child Well-Being and the Role of Public Policy, edition 1, chapter 7, pages 179-202, Inter-American Development Bank.
    5. Raquel Bernal & Sara María Ramírez, 2018. "Improving childcare quality at scale: the effects of “From Zero to Forever”," Documentos CEDE 16600, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    6. Hojman, Andrés & Lopez Boo, Florencia, 2022. "Public childcare benefits children and mothers: Evidence from a nationwide experiment in a developing country," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    7. Moussa P. Blimpo & Pedro Carneiro & Pamela Jervis & Todd Pugatch, 2022. "Improving Access and Quality in Early Childhood Development Programs: Experimental Evidence from the Gambia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(4), pages 1479-1529.
    8. Lopez Boo, Florencia & Hojman, Andrés, 2019. "Cost-Effective Public Daycare in a Low-Income Economy Benefits Children and Mothers," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9786, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Alison Andrew & Orazio Attanasio & Raquel Bernal & Lina Cardona Sosa & Sonya Krutikova & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2019. "Preschool Quality and Child Development," NBER Working Papers 26191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Natalia Danzer & Martin Halla & Nicole Schneeweis & Martina Zweimüller, 2022. "Parental Leave, (In)formal Childcare, and Long-Term Child Outcomes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(6), pages 1826-1884.
    11. van Huizen, Thomas & Plantenga, Janneke, 2018. "Do children benefit from universal early childhood education and care? A meta-analysis of evidence from natural experiments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 206-222.
    12. Fort, Margherita & Zanella, Giulio, 2019. "Cognitive and non-cognitive costs of daycare 0–2 for children in advantaged families," CEPR Discussion Papers 11120, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Orazio Attanasio & Helen Baker-Henningham & Raquel Bernal & Costas Meghir & Diana Pineda & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2022. "Early Stimulation and Nutrition: The Impacts of a Scalable Intervention," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1395-1432.
    14. M. Caridad Araujo & Marta Dormal & Norbert Schady, 2019. "Childcare Quality and Child Development," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 656-682.
    15. Contreras, David & Sanchez, Rafael, 2018. "Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Effects of Nursery Care in the Medium Run under Unobserved Heterogeneity," MPRA Paper 86289, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Hideo Akabayashi & TIm Ruberg & Chizuru Shikishima & Jun Yamashita, 2023. "Education-Oriented and Care-Oriented Preschools:Implications on Child Development," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2023-009, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    17. Magdalena Bendini & Lelys Dinarte, 2020. "Does Maternal Depression Undermine Childhood Cognitive Development? Evidence from the Young Lives Survey in Peru," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Fort, Margherita & Ichino, Andrea & Zanella, Giulio, 2016. "Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Costs of Daycare 0–2 for Girls," IZA Discussion Papers 9756, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Akabayashi, Hideo & Ruberg, Tim & Shikishima, Chizuru & Yamashita, Jun, 2023. "Education-oriented and care-oriented preschools: Implications on child development," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. Attanasio, Orazio P. & Lopez Boo, Florencia & Perez-Lopez, Diana & Reynolds, Sarah Anne, 2023. "Inequality in the Early Years in LAC: A Comparative Study of Size, Persistence, and Policies," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13316, Inter-American Development Bank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    early childhood development; early education; poverty; impact evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:col:000089:016855. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Universidad De Los Andes-Cede (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ceandco.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.