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The Impact of Pre-school on Adolescents' Outcomes: Evidence from a Recent English Cohort

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  • Apps, Patricia

    () (University of Sydney)

  • Mendolia, Silvia

    () (University of Wollongong)

  • Walker, Ian

    () (Lancaster University)

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between attendance at nursery school and children's outcomes in adolescence. In particular, we are interested in child cognitive development at ages 11, 14 and 16, intentions towards tertiary education, economic activity in early adulthood, and in a group of non-cognitive outcomes, such as risky health behaviours (smoking, early pregnancy, use of cannabis) and personality traits (feelings and commitments about school; psychological well-being). Using matching methods to control for a very rich set of child's and family's characteristics, we find that pre-school childcare largely improves results in cognitive tests at age 11 and 14 and 16, and has a positive effect on intentions towards further education and economic activity at age 19-20. Positive effects are especially noticeable for children coming from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Results on non-cognitive outcomes are more mixed: we do not find any evidence of improvement in psychological well-being, but we do find some positive effects on health behaviours.

Suggested Citation

  • Apps, Patricia & Mendolia, Silvia & Walker, Ian, 2012. "The Impact of Pre-school on Adolescents' Outcomes: Evidence from a Recent English Cohort," IZA Discussion Papers 6971, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6971
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter, Frauke, 2016. "The effect of involuntary maternal job loss on children's behaviour and non-cognitive skills," EconStor Open Access Articles, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 43-63.
    2. Joanna M Clifton-Sprigg, 2019. "Out of sight, out of mind? The education outcomes of children with parents working abroad," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 73-94.
    3. Shiying Zhang, 2017. "Effects of attending preschool on adolescents’ outcomes: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(27), pages 2618-2629, June.
    4. Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna, 2015. "Educational spillovers and parental migration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 64-75.
    5. Figlio, D. & Karbownik, K. & Salvanes, K.G., 2016. "Education Research and Administrative Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    6. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Julie Moschion, 2017. "Gender gaps in early educational achievement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 1093-1134, October.
    7. Peter, Frauke H. & Schober, Pia S. & Spiess, Katharina C., 2016. "Early Birds in Day Care: The Social Gradient in Starting Day Care and Children’s Non-cognitive Skills," EconStor Open Access Articles, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 725-751.
    8. Christina Felfe & Martin Huber, 2017. "Does preschool boost the development of minority children?: the case of Roma children," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 180(2), pages 475-502, February.
    9. Peter, Frauke, 2016. "The effect of involuntary maternal job loss on children's behaviour and non-cognitive skills," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 43-63.
    10. Maximilian Bach & Josefine Koebe & Frauke H. Peter, 2019. "Long Run Effects of Universal Childcare on Personality Traits," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1815, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Ryu, Hanbyul & Helfand, Steven M. & Moreira, Roni Barbosa, 2020. "Starting early and staying longer: The effects of a Brazilian primary schooling reform on student performance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    12. Filatriau, Olivier & Fougère, Denis & Tô, Maxime, 2013. "Will Sooner Be Better? The Impact of Early Preschool Enrollment on Cognitive and Noncognitive Achievement of Children," CEPR Discussion Papers 9480, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Julie Moschion, 2017. "Gender gaps in early educational achievement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 1093-1134, October.
    14. Dietrichson, Jens & Kristiansen, Ida Lykke & C. V. Nielsen, Bjørn, 2018. "Universal preschool programs and long-term child outcomes: A systematic review," Working Paper Series 2018:19, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    child outcomes; childcare;

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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