Early Childhood Development, Human Capital and Poverty / Orazio Attanasio, Sarah Cattan, Costas Meghir.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Attanasio, Orazio.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Cattan, Sarah.

Meghir, Costas.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w29362.

NBER working paper series no. w29362

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2021.

Summary:

Children's experiences during early childhood are critical for their cognitive and socio-emotional development, two key dimensions of human capital. However, children from low income backgrounds often grow up lacking stimulation and basic investments, leading to developmental deficits that are difficult, if not impossible, to reverse later in life without intervention. The existence of these deficits are a key driver of inequality and contribute to the intergenerational transmission of poverty. In this paper, we discuss the framework used in economics to model parental investments and early childhood development and use it as an organizing tool to review some of the empirical evidence on early childhood research. We then present results from various important early childhoods interventions with emphasis on developing countries. Bringing these elements together we draw conclusions on what we have learned and provide some directions for future research.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2021.