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The Lasting Effects of Early Childhood Education on Promoting the Skills and Social Mobility of Disadvantaged African Americans

Author

Listed:
  • García, Jorge Luis

    (Clemson University)

  • Heckman, James J.

    (University of Chicago)

  • Ronda, Victor

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

This paper demonstrates multiple beneficial impacts of a program promoting inter-generational mobility for disadvantaged African-American children and their children. The program improves outcomes of the first-generation treatment group across the life cycle, which translates into better family environments for the second generation leading to positive intergenerational gains. There are long-lasting beneficial program effects on cognition through age 54, contradicting claims of fadeout that have dominated popular discussions of early childhood programs. Children of the first-generation treatment group have higher levels of education and employment, lower levels of criminal activity, and better health than children of the first-generation control group.

Suggested Citation

  • García, Jorge Luis & Heckman, James J. & Ronda, Victor, 2021. "The Lasting Effects of Early Childhood Education on Promoting the Skills and Social Mobility of Disadvantaged African Americans," IZA Discussion Papers 14575, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14575
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    21. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Heckman, James J. & Loughlin, Colleen P., 2021. "Are Student-Athletes Exploited?," IZA Discussion Papers 14857, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman, 2022. "Parenting Promotes Social Mobility Within and Across Generations," NBER Working Papers 30610, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gertler,Paul J.,Heckman,James J.,Pinto,Rodrigo Ribeiro Antunes,Chang-Lopez,Susan M.,Grantham-Mcgregor,Sally,Vermeersch,Christel M. J.,Walker,Susan,Wright,Amika S., 2021. "Effect of the Jamaica Early Childhood Stimulation Intervention on Labor Market Outcomes at Age 31," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9787, The World Bank.
    4. Randall Akee & Leah R. Clark, 2023. "Universal Preschool Lottery Admissions and Its Effects on Long-Run Earnings and Outcomes," Working Papers 23-09, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    5. Orlando Uccellini & Andrea Benlodi & Emanuele Caroppo & Loredana Cena & Gianluca Esposito & Isabel Fernandez & Maria Ghazanfar & Antonio Imbasciati & Francesco Longo & Marianna Mazza & Giuseppe Marano, 2022. "1000 Days: The “WeCare Generation” Program—The Ultimate Model for Improving Human Mental Health and Economics: The Study Protocol," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-11, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    early childhood education; intergenerational mobility; racial inequality; social mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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