IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mnt/wpaper/1903.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Using Behavioral Insights in Early Childhood Interventions: the Effects of Crianza Positiva E-Messaging Program on Parental Investment

Author

Listed:
  • Juanita Bloomfield
  • Ana Balsa
  • Alejandro Cid

Abstract

We study whether an e-messaging program rooted on behavioral economic insights helps improve parental investment and sustain commitment over time. Treated families received text and audio messages three times a week for 24 weeks. The messages were designed to help parents reorient their attention towards positive parenting goals, simplify complex parental tasks, and reinforce positive identities. Using an RCT design on 24 early childhood centers in Uruguay, we find that the intervention increased the frequency of parental involvement by 0.24 standard deviations and improved several measures of parenting quality by a similar magnitude. The effects were larger for families experiencing more negative shocks and lower negative identity at baseline, suggesting the program may have triggered the right channels.

Suggested Citation

  • Juanita Bloomfield & Ana Balsa & Alejandro Cid, 2019. "Using Behavioral Insights in Early Childhood Interventions: the Effects of Crianza Positiva E-Messaging Program on Parental Investment," Documentos de Trabajo/Working Papers 1903, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economia. Universidad de Montevideo..
    • Handle: RePEc:mnt:wpaper:1903
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Gravert, Christina, 2018. "The hidden costs of nudging: Experimental evidence from reminders in fundraising," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 15-26.
    2. Alberto Abadie & Susan Athey & Guido W Imbens & Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "When Should You Adjust Standard Errors for Clustering?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 1-35.
    3. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    4. David S. Lee, 2009. "Training, Wages, and Sample Selection: Estimating Sharp Bounds on Treatment Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(3), pages 1071-1102.
    5. Matthew Rabin, 1998. "Psychology and Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 11-46, March.
    6. 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.
    7. Cortes, Kalena E. & Fricke, Hans & Loeb, Susanna & Song, David S., 2018. "Too Little or Too Much? Actionable Advice in an Early-Childhood Text Messaging Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 11669, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Damian Clarke & Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2020. "The Romano–Wolf multiple-hypothesis correction in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 20(4), pages 812-843, December.
    9. 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.
    10. Maya Escueta & Vincent Quan & Andre Joshua Nickow & Philip Oreopoulos, 2017. "Education Technology: An Evidence-Based Review," NBER Working Papers 23744, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Benjamin N. York & Susanna Loeb & Christopher Doss, 2019. "One Step at a Time: The Effects of an Early Literacy Text-Messaging Program for Parents of Preschoolers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 537-566.
    12. Sarah Baird & J. Aislinn Bohren & Craig McIntosh & Berk Özler, 2018. "Optimal Design of Experiments in the Presence of Interference," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(5), pages 844-860, December.
    13. Susan E. Mayer & Ariel Kalil & Philip Oreopoulos & Sebastian Gallegos, 2019. "Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Parental Engagement: The Parents and Children Together Intervention," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(4), pages 900-925.
    14. repec:idb:brikps:7259 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Jonathan Guryan & Erik Hurst & Melissa Kearney, 2008. "Parental Education and Parental Time with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 23-46, Summer.
    16. María Caridad Araujo & Martín Ardanaz & Edna Armendáriz & Jere R. Behrman & Samuel Berlinski & Julian P. Cristia & Yyannu Cruz-Aguayo & Luca Flabbi & Diana Hincapie & Analía Jalmovich & Sharon Lynn Ka, 2015. "The Early Years: Child Well-being and the Role of Public Policy," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 91496 edited by Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady, February.
    17. Fricke, Hans & Kalogrides, Demetra & Loeb, Susanna, 2018. "It’s too annoying: Who drops out of educational text messaging programs and why," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 39-43.
    18. 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. Ajzenman, Nicolas & Luna, Laura Becerra & Hernández-Agramonte, Juan Manuel & Lopez Boo, Florencia & Perez Alfaro, Marcelo & Vásquez-Echeverría, Alejandro & Mateo Diaz, Mercedes, 2022. "A behavioral intervention to increase preschool attendance in Uruguay," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Mateo-Berganza Díaz, María Mercedes & Becerra, Laura & Hernández Agramonte, Juan Manuel & Lopez Boo, Florencia & Pérez Alfaro, Marcelo & Vasquez Echeverria, Alejandro, 2020. "Nudging Parents to Increase Preschool Attendance in Uruguay," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 10893, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Lebedinski, Lara & Carneiro, Pedro & Urzua, Tamara Arnold & Perng, Julie & Boudet, Ana Maria Munoz & Sosa, Katia Herrera, 2024. "Experimental Impacts of a Virtual Parenting Program with Mothers and Fathers," IZA Discussion Papers 17028, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 14698, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    3. Cortes, Kalena E. & Fricke, Hans & Loeb, Susanna & Song, David S. & York, Ben, 2019. "When Behavioral Barriers Are Too High or Low: How Timing Matters for Parenting Interventions," IZA Discussion Papers 12416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Hernández-Agramonte, Juan Manuel & Namen, Olga & Näslund-Hadley, Emma & Biehl, Maria Loreto, 2024. "Supporting early childhood development remotely: Experimental evidence from SMS messages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    5. World Bank, 2017. "Pre-Primary Education in Mongolia," World Bank Publications - Reports 26402, The World Bank Group.
    6. 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.
    7. Jonas Jessen & Christa Katharina Spieß & Sevrin Waights, 2022. "Centre‐Based Care and Parenting Activities," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(6), pages 1356-1379, December.
    8. Yanguas, Maria Lucia, 2020. "Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Carneiro, Pedro & Cruz Aguayo, Yyannu & Salvati, Francesca & Schady, Norbert, 2023. "The Effect of Classroom Rank on Learning throughout Elementary School: Experimental Evidence from Ecuador," IZA Discussion Papers 16384, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Jeffrey D. Michler & Anna Josephson, 2022. "Recent developments in inference: practicalities for applied economics," Chapters, in: A Modern Guide to Food Economics, chapter 11, pages 235-268, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. 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.
    12. Francesca Marchetta & Tom Dilly, 2019. "Supporting Education in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges for an Impact Investor," Working Papers hal-02288103, HAL.
    13. Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre & Akyol, Pelin & Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Demirci, Murat & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2024. "Intergenerational Effects of Compulsory Schooling Reform on Early Childhood Development in a Middle-Income Country," IZA Discussion Papers 17249, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Orazio Attanasio & Ricardo Paes de Barros & Pedro Carneiro & David K. Evans & Lycia Lima & Pedro Olinto & Norbert Schady, 2022. "Public Childcare, Labor Market Outcomes of Caregivers, and Child Development: Experimental Evidence from Brazil," NBER Working Papers 30653, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Chowdhury, Shyamal & Hasan, Syed & Sharma, Uttam, 2024. "The Role of Trainee Selection in the Effectiveness of Vocational Training: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Nepal," IZA Discussion Papers 16705, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Sylvia, Sean & Luo, Renfu & Zhong, Jingdong & Dill, Sarah-Eve & Medina, Alexis & Rozelle, Scott, 2022. "Passive versus active service delivery: Comparing the effects of two parenting interventions on early cognitive development in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    17. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & Doherty, Anya & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2022. "Do carbon footprint labels promote climatarian diets? Evidence from a large-scale field experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    18. Cortes, Kalena E. & Fricke, Hans & Loeb, Susanna & Song, David S. & York, Benjamin N., 2023. "When behavioral barriers are too high or low – How timing matters for text-based parenting interventions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    19. Boo, Florencia Lopez & Creamer, John, 2019. "Cash, conditions, and child development: experimental evidence from a cash transfer program in Honduras," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123128, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Nores, Milagros & Bernal, Raquel & Barnett, W. Steven, 2019. "Center-based care for infants and toddlers: The aeioTU randomized trial," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 30-43.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

    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:mnt:wpaper:1903. 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: Mathias Ribeiro (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fceumuy.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.