Within-family differences in Head Start participation and parent investment. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gonzalez, Kathryn E.
• Is Part Of: Economics of education review. Volume 74(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: Educational economics -- Early childhood education -- Family economics; I21 -- I28 -- J13; Education -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; 370
• DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101950
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-7757

Abstract

Highlights: Parents allocate investments across siblings based on Head Start participation. Parents invest less in Head Start attendees relative to siblings not in preschool. Attendees received less emotional support and cognitive stimulation at age 5–14. Suggests parents compensate for differences in access to early education programs. Abstract: There is limited understanding of how parents' allocation of investments across their children are affected by differences in their children's participation in programs that promote early development. I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine whether parents reinforce or compensate for differences in their children's access to an early education program, Head Start. I use a family fixed effects approach to contrast measures of parental investment, when children were age 5 through 14, for children who attended Head Start relative to their siblings who did not attend preschool. I find that parents provided lower levels of cognitive stimulation and emotional support to children who attended Head Start relative to their siblings who did not attend preschool. Although impacts are relatively small in magnitude (0.05 SD), results suggest that parent compensate for differences in access to early childhood educational opportunities.