Preschool and Parental Response in a Second Best World: Evidence from a School Construction Experiment

Type Working Paper
Title Preschool and Parental Response in a Second Best World: Evidence from a School Construction Experiment
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2017
URL https://hal-pjse.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01090361/document
Abstract
Interventions targeting early childhood development hold promise for increasing human
capital and reducing the intergenerational transmission of poverty. This paper presents
results from a randomized evaluation of a preschool construction program in Cambodia, and
suggests caution. The overall impact of the program on early childhood outcomes was small
and statistically insignificant. For the cohort with highest program exposure, the impact on
cognitive indicators was negative; with the largest negative effects among children of poorer
and less educated parents. The results are consistent with frequent underage enrollment in
primary school in the absence of preschools, stricter enforcement of the minimum age for
primary school entry after the intervention, substitution between primary and preschool
following intervention, and difference in demand responses to the new preschools between
more and less educated parents. The results show that contextual and program specifics, and
behavioral responses, can potentially lead to perverse effects of programs.

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