Head Start and the Distribution of Long Term Education and Labor Market Outcomes

41 Pages Posted: 19 May 2016

See all articles by Monique de Haan

Monique de Haan

University of Oslo

Edwin Leuven

University of Oslo - Department of Economics

Date Written: April 27, 2016

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the effect of Head Start on long term education and labor market outcomes using data from the NLSY79. The contributions to the existing literature on the effectiveness of Head Start are threefold: (1) we are the first to examine distributional effects of Head Start on long term outcomes (2) we do not rely on quasi-experimental variation in Head Start participation but instead perform a nonparametric bounds analysis that relies on weak stochastic dominance assumptions and (3) we consider education and labor market outcomes observed for individuals in their early 30s. The results show that Head Start has a statistically significant positive effect on years of education, in particular for women, blacks and Hispanics. For wage income we also find evidence that Head Start has beneficial impacts, with effects located at the lower end of the distribution.

Keywords: Head Start, early intervention, long term outcomes, partial identification

JEL Classification: H520, I210, J130, J240, J310

Suggested Citation

de Haan, Monique and Leuven, Edwin, Head Start and the Distribution of Long Term Education and Labor Market Outcomes (April 27, 2016). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 5870, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2780872 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2780872

Monique De Haan (Contact Author)

University of Oslo ( email )

PO Box 6706 St Olavs plass
Oslo, N-0317
Norway

Edwin Leuven

University of Oslo - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 1095 Blindern
N-0317 Oslo
Norway

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