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The Effect of Center-Based Early Education on Disadvantaged Children’s Developmental Trajectories: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

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Early childhood development is recognized as a global priority, but questions remain regarding how to best serve the needs of disadvantaged children in low- and middle-income countries. We study the effects of a high-quality center-based early childhood intervention on the development of disadvantaged children in Colombia. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with over 1000 children followed longitudinally over a five-year period. The intervention leads to positive and sustained effects on children’s health, and positive effects on cognitive development that dissipate in the last year of the program. We find no effect on socio-emotional development or on the home environment.

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  • Raquel Bernal & Michele Giannola & Milagros Nores, 2023. "The Effect of Center-Based Early Education on Disadvantaged Children’s Developmental Trajectories: Experimental Evidence from Colombia," CSEF Working Papers 665, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 01 Feb 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:sef:csefwp:665
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    early childhood development; early education; poverty; impact evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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