Effect of the Jamaica Early Childhood Stimulation Intervention on Labor Market Outcomes at Age 31

Abstract

We report the labor market effects of the Jamaica Early Childhood Stimulation intervention at age 31. The study is a small-sample randomized early childhood education stimulation intervention targeting stunted children living in the poor neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica. Implemented in 1987-1989, treatment consisted of a two-year home-based intervention designed to improve nutrition and the quality of mother-child interactions to foster cognitive, language and psycho-social skills. The original sample is 127 stunted children between 9 and 24 months old. Our study is able to track and interview 75% of the original sample 30 years after the intervention, both still living in Jamaica and migrated abroad. We find large and statistically significant effects on income and schooling; the treatment group had 43% higher hourly wages and 37% higher earnings than the control group. This is a substantial increase over the treatment effect estimated for age 22 where we observed a 25% increase in earnings.

Effectiveness and Preferences on Mainstreaming Early Childhood Stimulation Services in Tanzania: A Case Study of Community-based Early Childhood Development Initiative

“…Evidence from the famous Jamaican intervention on the impact of early childhood stimulation interventions for children from economically disadvantaged families has shown significant improvement in school performance and income gained at later stages of life (Gertler et al, 2021).…”

Using lessons learnt from key stakeholders to increase support for scaling the Reach Up Early Childhood Parenting program

“…The impact of the intervention has been measured through randomized control trials which have shown benefits to child development and parenting outcomes ( 4 , 9 , 14–21 ). Substantial long-term benefits to cognition, education, mental health and income up to age 30 years have also been demonstrated ( 22 , 23 ).…”

Early Childhood Human Capital Formation at Scale

“…Doing so, we obtain an IRR of 19.6%. Alternatively, we can use estimates from the 20 and 30-year follow-ups of the Jamaica early childhood stimulation trial, where Gertler et al (2014Gertler et al ( , 2021 find that the short-run gains for the treated children in cognition (0.91 SD) and language (0.59 SD) translate to 25% and 37% higher earnings at age 22 and 31 years, respectively. Hence the estimate we use to monetize a 1 SD gain in cognitive skills, 9% (at age 21 years, and assuming no growth in earnings thereafter), is likely a lower bound for low-income settings.…”