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Early years policy

Author

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  • Waldfogel, Jane
  • Washbrook, Elizabeth

Abstract

We analyze the role that early years policy might play in narrowing educational attainment gaps. We begin by examining gaps in school readiness between low-, middle-, and high-income children, drawing on data from new large and nationally representative birth cohort studies in the USA and UK. We find that sizable income-related gaps in school readiness are present in both countries before children enter school and then decompose these gaps to identify the factors that account for the poorer scores of low-income children. We then consider what role early years policy could play in tackling these gaps, drawing on the best available evidence to identify promising programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Waldfogel, Jane & Washbrook, Elizabeth, 2011. "Early years policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 43728, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:43728
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/43728/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane Waldfogel, 2004. "Social Mobility, Life Chances, and the Early Years," CASE Papers 088, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    2. Waldfogel, Jane, 2007. "Welfare reforms and child well-being in the US and UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6208, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Hansen, Kirstine & Hawkes, Denise, 2009. "Early childcare and child development," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 4802, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    4. William T. Gormley Jr., 2007. "Early childhood care and education: Lessons and puzzles," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 633-671.
    5. Jane Waldfogel, 2007. "Welfare Reforms and Child Well-Being in the US and UK," CASE Papers case126, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    6. Gregg, Paul & Waldfogel, Jane & Washbrook, Elizabeth, 2006. "Family expenditures post-welfare reform in the UK: Are low-income families starting to catch up?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 721-746, December.
    7. Neeraj Kaushal & Qin Gao & Jane Waldfogel, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Family Expenditures: How are Single Mothers Adapting to the New Welfare and Work Regime?," NBER Working Papers 12624, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Jane Waldfogel, 2006. "What do children need?," Public Policy Review, Institute for Public Policy Research, vol. 13(1), pages 26-34, March.
    9. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Jens Ludwig & Deborah A. Phillips, 2007. "The Benefits and Costs of Head Start," NBER Working Papers 12973, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. repec:cep:sticas:/126 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Waldfogel, Jane, 2004. "Social mobility, life chances, and the early years," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6302, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Anika Schenck-Fontaine & Lidia Panico, 2019. "Many Kinds of Poverty: Three Dimensions of Economic Hardship, Their Combinations, and Children’s Behavior Problems," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2279-2305, December.
    3. Zenou, Yves & List, John & Momeni, Fatemeh, 2019. "Are Estimates of Early Education Programs Too Pessimistic? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment that Causally Measures," CEPR Discussion Papers 13725, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    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. List, John A. & Momeni, Fatemeh & Zenou, Yves, 2020. "The Social Side of Early Human Capital Formation: Using a Field Experiment to Estimate the Causal Impact of Neighborhoods," IZA Discussion Papers 13966, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. John List & Julie Pernaudet & Dana Suskind, 2021. "It All Starts with Beliefs: Addressing the Roots of Educational Inequities by Changing Parental Beliefs," Framed Field Experiments 00740, The Field Experiments Website.
    7. John A. List & Fatemeh Momeni & Yves Zenou, 2020. "The Social Side of Early Human Capital Formation: Using a Field Experiment to Estimate the Causal Impact of Neighborhoods," Working Papers 2020-187, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    8. List, John A. & Momeni, Fatemeh & Zenou, Yves, 2019. "Are Estimates of Early Education Programs Too Pessimistic? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment that Causally Measures Neighbor Effects," Working Paper Series 1293, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Esping-Andersen, Gosta & Garfinkel, Irwin & Han, Wen-Jui & Magnuson, Katherine & Wagner, Sander & Waldfogel, Jane, 2012. "Child care and school performance in Denmark and the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 576-589.
    10. Samantha Parsons & Lucinda Platt, 2014. "Disabled children's cognitive development in the early years," DoQSS Working Papers 14-15, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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