Head Start Access: No Evidence of Changes to Lifetime Fertility

Esra Kose, Siobhan O'Keefe and Maria Rosales-Rueda

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2025, vol. 115, 108-13

Abstract: This study investigates the effect of early childhood access to the Head Start program on long-term fertility outcomes. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, we exploit the staggered rollout of Head Start from 1966 to 1980 across US counties for women born between 1955 and 1975. Our analysis, based on extensive and intensive fertility measures, reveals no significant impact of Head Start access on either the likelihood of having children or the total number of children born before age 45. These findings contribute to the literature on the socioeconomic outcomes of War on Poverty programs, particularly regarding adult fertility choices.

JEL-codes: H75 I28 I38 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251099

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