The Socioeconomic Gradient of Child Development: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Children 6–42 Months in Bogota

We study the socioeconomic gradient of child development on a sample of low- and middle-income children aged 6–42 months in Bogota using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. We find an average difference of 0.53, 0.42, and 0.49 standard deviations (SD) in cognition, receptive, and ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of human resources 2015-04, Vol.50 (2), p.464-483
Main Authors: Rubio-Codina, Marta, Attanasio, Orazio, Meghir, Costas, Varela, Natalia, Grantham-McGregor, Sally
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child development
Child welfare
Cognition
Early childhood
Human resources
Intervention
Language
Latin America
Low income groups
Socioeconomic factors
Standard deviation
Studies
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Summary:We study the socioeconomic gradient of child development on a sample of low- and middle-income children aged 6–42 months in Bogota using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. We find an average difference of 0.53, 0.42, and 0.49 standard deviations (SD) in cognition, receptive, and expressive language respectively, between children in the top and bottom quartile of the wealth distribution. These gaps increase substantially to 0.81 SD (cognition), 0.76 SD (receptive language), and 0.68 SD (expressive language) for children aged 31–42 months. These robust findings can inform the design and targeting of interventions promoting early childhood development.
ISSN:0022-166X
1548-8004
DOI:10.3368/jhr.50.2.464