Kindergartens and Intergenerational Mobility

Philipp Ager, Francesco Cinnirella, Katherine Eriksson and Viktor Malein

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2025, vol. 115, 415-20

Abstract: We evaluate the impact of free public kindergartens in the early twentieth-century United States on intergenerational mobility for children of immigrant and native parents. Using linked Census and newly digitized kindergarten enrollment data, we find that kindergartens reduced mobility, particularly for children of Eastern and Southern European immigrants. This effect is driven by higher-income families being more likely to attend kindergarten and to convert early enrollment into long-term educational gains. Our findings contribute to the literature on the long-run effects of early childhood interventions.

JEL-codes: I21 I28 J13 J15 J62 N31 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251024

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