Breaking the Cycle? Intergenerational Effects of an Antipoverty Program in Early Childhood

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Barr, Andrew; Gibbs, Chloe R. R.
• 署名单位: Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; University of Notre Dame
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/720764
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 3253-3285
• 关键词: head-start; income inequality; ECONOMICS; impacts; transmission; investments; opportunity; TECHNOLOGY; Preschool; mobility

摘要

Despite substantial evidence that resources and outcomes are transmitted across generations, there has been limited inquiry into the extent to which antipoverty programs actually disrupt the cycle of bad outcomes. We leverage the rollout of the United States's largest early-childhood program, Head Start, to estimate the effect of early-childhood exposure among mothers on their children's long-term outcomes. We find evidence of intergenerational transmission of effects in the form of increased educational attainment, reduced teen pregnancy, and reduced criminal engagement in the second generation. These effects correspond to an estimated increase in discounted second-generation wages of 6%-11%, depending on specification. Exploration of earlier outcomes suggests an important role for changes in parenting behavior and potential noncognitive channels.