Preventing Behavior Problems in Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence from

• Main Authors: Head Start, Pedro Carneiro, Rita Ginja Y
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: JEL Codes; C21; I28; I38. Keywords; Regression discontinuity design; early childhood development; non-cognitive skills; Head We thank Joe Altonji; Sami Berlinski; Richard Blundell; Janet Currie; Blundell; Currie; sami
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.187.1315; http://client.norc.org/jole/SOLEweb/8201.pdf

This paper shows that participation in Head Start decreases behavioral problems, grade repetition, and obesity of children at ages 12 and 13, and depression, criminal behavior, and obesity at ages 16 and 17. Head Start’s eligibility rules induce discontinuities in program participation as a function of income, which we use to identify program impacts. Since there is a range of discontinuities (they vary with family size, state and year), we identify the e¤ect of Head Start for a large set of individuals, as opposed to a small set of people around a single discontinuity. Start.