Estimating the Production Function for Human Capital: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Colombia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Attanasio, Orazio; Cattan, Sarah; Fitzsimons, Emla; Meghir, Costas; Rubio-Codina, Marta
• 署名单位: Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of London; University College London; UCL Institute of Education; Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Inter-American Development Bank
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20150183
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 48-85
• 关键词: CHILD-DEVELOPMENT; nutritional supplementation; psychosocial stimulation; program; intervention; TECHNOLOGY; education; returns; choices; Mexico

摘要

We examine the channels through which a randomized early childhood intervention in Colombia led to significant gains in cognitive and socio-emotional skills among a sample of disadvantaged children aged 12 to 24 months at baseline. We estimate the determinants of parents' material and time investments in these children and evaluate the impact of the treatment on such investments. We then estimate the production functions for cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The effects of the program can be explained by increases in parental investments, emphasizing the importance of parenting interventions at an early age.