Early Childcare Attendance and Cognitive skills in Adolescence

Ingvild Almås, Nina Drange, Costas Meghir and Henrik D. Zachrisson

No 35109, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of early childcare on academic achievement for children in grade 5 and grade 9, based on a 2003 policy expansion that created quasi-random variation in slot availability for children aged 1–2. Starting childcare one year earlier increases math scores by 9.7% of a standard deviation (SD) in grade 9. Children whose mothers do not hold a high school diploma benefit by a significant 28% of a SD at grade 9, reducing the math achievement gap from children of higher-educated mothers by about one third. We also present evidence of strong improvements for children of immigrants.

JEL-codes: I21 I24 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
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