Data and Code for: Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Martha J. Bailey, UCLA; Shuqiao Sun, World Bank; Brenden Timpe, University of Nebraska

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
R			07/28/2021 04:10:PM
RDC			10/14/2021 06:34:PM
stata			10/14/2021 06:24:PM
ReadMe.pdf	application/pdf	136.6 KB	10/27/2021 07:33:PM

Project Citation:

Bailey, Martha J., Sun, Shuqiao, and Timpe, Brenden. Data and Code for: Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2021. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-11-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/E146361V1

Project Description

Summary: This paper evaluates the long-run effects of Head Start using large-scale, restricted administrative data. Using the county rollout of Head Start between 1965 and 1980 and age-eligibility cutoffs for school entry, we find that Head Start generated large increases in adult human capital and economic self-sufficiency, including a 0.65-year increase in schooling, a 2.7-percent increase in high-school completion, an 8.5-percent increase in college enrollment, and a 39-percent increase in college completion. These estimates imply sizable, long-term returns to public investments in large-scale preschool programs.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: preschool children; economic policy; social inequality

JEL Classification:
I24 Education and Inequality

Geographic Coverage: United States

Time Period(s): 1950 – 1980 (Years of birth); 2000 – 2018 (Adult outcomes); 1970 – 1970 (Preschool attendance)

Collection Date(s): 2000 – 2018

Universe: All children born 1950-1980 in the continental United States.

Data Type(s): administrative records data; census/enumeration data; survey data

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Published Versions

V1 [2021-11-19]

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Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

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