The Effect of Early-Childhood Education on Social Preferences

Alexander Cappelen, John List, Anya Samek and Bertil Tungodden

Journal of Political Economy, 2020, vol. 128, issue 7, 2739 - 2758

Abstract: We present results from the first study to examine the causal impact of early-childhood education on the social preferences of children. We compare children who, at 3–4 years old, were randomized into either a full-time preschool, a parenting program, or a control group. We returned to the children when they reached 6–8 years of age and conducted a series of incentivized experiments to elicit their social preferences. We find that early-childhood education has a strong causal impact on social preferences. Our findings highlight the importance of taking a broad perspective when designing and evaluating early-childhood educational programs.

Date: 2020
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