蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Kindergartens and Intergenerational Mobility
蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
vol. 115,
May 2025
(pp. 415–20)
Abstract
We evaluate the impact of free public kindergartens in the early twentieth-century United States on intergenerational mobility for children of immigrant and native parents. Using linked Census and newly digitized kindergarten enrollment data, we find that kindergartens reduced mobility, particularly for children of Eastern and Southern European immigrants. This effect is driven by higher-income families being more likely to attend kindergarten and to convert early enrollment into long-term educational gains. Our findings contribute to the literature on the long-run effects of early childhood interventions.Citation
Ager, Philipp, Francesco Cinnirella, Katherine Eriksson, and Viktor Malein. 2025. "Kindergartens and Intergenerational Mobility." 蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings 115: 415–20. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251024Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J62 Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-