Labor Market Returns to Early Childhood Stimulation : A 20-year Followup to an Experimental Intervention in Jamaica

This paper finds large effects on the earnings of participants from a randomized intervention that gave psychosocial stimulation to stunted Jamaican toddlers living in poverty. The intervention consisted of one-hour weekly visits from community Jamaican health workers over a 2-year period that taught parenting skills and encouraged mothers to interact and play with their children in ways that would develop their children's cognitive and personality skills. The authors re-interviewed the study participants 20 years after the intervention. Stimulation increased the average earnings of participants by 42 percent. Treatment group earnings caught up to the earnings of a matched non-stunted comparison group. These findings show that psychosocial stimulation early in childhood in disadvantaged settings can have substantial effects on labor market outcomes and reduce later life inequality.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Heckman, James, Gertler, Paul, Pinto, Rodrigo, Zanolini, Arianna, Walker, Susan, Vermeersch, Christel, Chang-Lopez, Susan, Grantham-McGregor, Sally
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-07
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING, ADJUSTMENT, AGING, ANXIETY, ARITHMETIC, ATTRITION, BIRTH ORDER, BIRTH WEIGHT, BRAIN, BRAIN RESEARCH, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, COGNITION, COGNITIVE ABILITY, COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT, COGNITIVE SKILLS, COMMUNITY HEALTH, COMPETENCE, CONDITIONING, CONTROL GROUPS, CRIME, CURRICULUM, DEPRESSION, DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, DISEASE, EARLY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTIONS, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION SECTOR, EDUCATION VARIABLES, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, EMPLOYMENT, ENROLLMENT, ETHNIC GROUPS, EXAM, EXAMS, FAMILIES, FEMALES, GENDER, GENDER DIFFERENCE, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GIRLS, HEAD START, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH EFFECTS, HEALTH WORKERS, HEIGHT FOR AGE, HOOKWORM, HUMAN CAPITAL, HYPERACTIVITY, INCOME, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, INFERENCE, INTERVENTION, INTERVENTIONS, INTUITION, INVENTORY, ISOLATION, LABOR ECONOMICS, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR SUPPLY, LABOUR, LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, LIVING CONDITIONS, MALNUTRITION, MEDICINE, MENTAL, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, MOTOR SKILLS, PARENTING, PEDIATRICS, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONALITY, PERSONALITY TRAITS, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRODUCTIVITY, PSYCHOLOGY, QUALITY SCHOOLS, READING, RISK FACTORS, SCHOOLING, SEX, SKILL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, TEACHING, THINKING, TREATMENT, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, YOUNG CHILDREN, stunting, randomized trial,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/07/18005953/labor-market-returns-early-childhood-stimulation-20-year-followup-experimental-intervention-jamaica https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15887
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