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Windows of Opportunity in Early Childhood: A Dynamic Model of Multidimensional Development

Author

Listed:
  • Orazio Attanasio
  • Raquel Bernal
  • Michele Giannola
  • Milagros Nores

Abstract

Using child development data collected during the evaluation of an early childhood education program, this paper estimates a dynamic model of human development from ages 1 to 6. We model three latent factors—health, cognitive skills, and socio-emotional skills—and allow them to interact with each other and with multiple inputs to shape subsequent development. The richness and high-frequency nature of the data permit a flexible specification that (i) allows for complex dynamics, (ii) lets each factor con- tribute to the production of the others, (iii) permits age-varying production technologies, and (iv) treats parental investment as endogenous. We use the estimated model to identify “windows of opportunity” in which parental interventions, or programs that increase investment, are especially effective. Results indicate that developmental dynamics are richer than typically assumed, with important implications for persistence: the impact of inputs can decay or endure in ways that vary across domains and over age. Accounting for endogenous investment is consequential for inference.

Suggested Citation

  • Orazio Attanasio & Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2026. "Windows of Opportunity in Early Childhood: A Dynamic Model of Multidimensional Development," NBER Working Papers 35818, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35818
    Note: DEV ED
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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