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Empowering Mothers and Enhancing Early Childhood Investment: Effect on Adults’ Outcomes and Children’s Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills

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  • Victor Lavy
  • Giulia Lotti
  • Zizhong Yan

Abstract

We provide regression discontinuity evidence on long-run impacts of a temporary increase in federal transfers to local governments in Brazil. Revenues and expenditures in treatment communities increased by about 20 percent during a four-year period in the early 1980s. Previously established schooling and literacy gains of school-age cohorts as well as reduced poverty in the community overall as of 1991 are generally attenuated but persist in 2000. Children and adolescents born after the funding boost show gains of about 0.06–0.10 standard deviation across the entire score distribution of two nationwide exams at the end of the 2000s.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Lavy & Giulia Lotti & Zizhong Yan, 2022. "Empowering Mothers and Enhancing Early Childhood Investment: Effect on Adults’ Outcomes and Children’s Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(3), pages 821-867.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:57:y:2022:i:3:p:821-867
    Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.57.3.0917-9083R2
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rita Pető & Balázs Reizer, 2021. "Gender differences in the skill content of jobs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(3), pages 825-864, July.
    2. Bhalotra, Sonia & Delavande, Adeline & Font-Gilabert, Paulino & Maselko, Joanna, 2022. "Maternal Investments in Children : The Role of Expected Effort and Returns," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1423, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    3. Victoria Baranov & Sonia Bhalotra & Pietro Biroli & Joanna Maselko, 2017. "Maternal Depression, Women’s Empowerment, and Parental Investment: Evidence from a Large Randomized Control Trial," CHILD Working Papers Series 60 JEL Classification: I1, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    4. Victoria Baranov & Sonia Bhalotra & Pietro Biroli & Joanna Maselko, 2018. "Maternal Depression, Women's Empowerment, and Parental Investment: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial," Working Papers 2018-021, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    5. Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Biroli, Pietro & Maselko, Joanna, 2017. "Maternal Depression, Women's Empowerment, and Parental Investment: Evidence from a Large Randomized Control Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 11187, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Bhalotra, Sonia & Delavande, Adeline & Font-Gilabert, Paulino & Maselko, Joanna, 2022. "Maternal Investments in Children : The Role of Expected Effort and Returns," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 637, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. Jose Cuesta & Mario Negre & Ana Revenga & Maika Schmidt, 2018. "Tackling Income Inequality: What Works and Why?," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 26(1), pages 1-48, March.
    8. Li, Jie & Lu, Yi & Song, Hong & Xie, Huihua, 2019. "Long-term impact of trade liberalization on human capital formation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 946-961.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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