Public Investments in Early Childhood Education and Academic Performance: Evidence from Head Start in Texas

Esra Kose

Journal of Human Resources, 2023, vol. 58, issue 6, 2042-2069

Abstract: Do early childhood investments for low-income children narrow the academic achievement gap in elementary school? I study this question in the context of Head Start by using a new variation in federal funding expansions across counties in the 1990s. Using student-level data from Texas, I find that exposure to more generous Head Start funding during childhood significantly improved test scores, particularly for low-income Hispanic students. Hispanics benefited from funding expansions through increased access to Head Start and improvements in program inputs. These advances enhanced their language proficiency and reduced the likelihood of their special education needs during elementary school.

JEL-codes: H53 I38 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0419-10147R2
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://jhr.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/58/6/2042
A subscription is required to access pdf files. Pay per article is available.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:58:y:2023:i:6:p:2042-2069

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Human Resources from University of Wisconsin Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().