The Health Effects of Universal Early Childhood Interventions: Evidence from Sure Start

Sarah Cattan (), Gabriella Conti, Christine Farquharson (), Rita Ginja and Maud Pecher ()
Additional contact information
Sarah Cattan: Institute for Fiscal Studies, London
Christine Farquharson: Institute for Fiscal Studies, London
Maud Pecher: Department of Health, UK

No 14868, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We evaluate the short- and medium-term health impacts of Sure Start, a large-scale and universal early childhood program in England. We exploit the rollout of the program and implement a difference-in-difference approach, combining data on the exact location and opening date of Sure Start centers with administrative data on the universe of admissions to public-sector hospitals. Exposure to an additional Sure Start center per thousand age-eligible children increases hospitalization by 10% at age 1 (around 6,700 hospitalizations per year), but reduces them by 8-9% across ages 11 to 15 (around 13,150 hospitalizations per year). These findings show that early childhood programs that are less intensive than small-scale 'model programs' can deliver significant health benefits, even in contexts with universal healthcare. Impacts are driven by hospitalizations for preventable conditions and are concentrated in disadvantaged areas, suggesting that enriching early childhood environments might be a successful strategy to reduce inequalities in health.

Keywords: health; early childhood intervention; difference-in-difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I14 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 98 pages
Date: 2021-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-ltv and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The health effects of universal early childhood interventions: evidence from Sure Start (2022)
Working Paper: The Health Effects of Universal Early Childhood Interventions: Evidence from Sure Start (2021)
Working Paper: The Health Effects of Universal Early Childhood Interventions: Evidence from Sure Start (2021)
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