Abstract:We provide evidence on the impact of a large construction of pre-primary school facilities in Argentina. We estimate the causal impact of the program on pre-primary school attendance and maternal labor supply. Identification relies on a differences-in-differences strategy where we combine differences across regions in the number of facilities built with differences in exposure across cohorts induced by the timing of the program. We find a sizeable impact of the program on pre-primary school participation among children aged between 3 and 5. In fact, we cannot reject the null hypothesis of a full take-up of newly constructed places. In addition, we find that the childcare subsidy induced by the program increases maternal employment and that this effect is in line with the one previously found for the US. JEL Codes: I28, J13, O15

Although the theoretical case for universal pre-primary education is strong, the empirical foundation is weak. In this paper, we contribute to the empirical case by investigating the effect of a large expansion of universal pre-primary education on subsequent primary school performance in Argentina. We estimate that one year of preprimary school increases average third grade test scores by 8 percent of a mean or by 23 percent of the standard deviation of the distribution of test scores. We also find that preprimary school attendance positively affects student's self-control in the third grade as measured by behaviors such as attention, effort, class participation, and discipline. Executive summaryMost OECD and many middle income countries have turned to universal pre-primary education in order to give children a better start to life. While there is substantial empirical evidence that pre-primary school programs targeted to disadvantaged children have significant benefits, little is known about the benefits for the population as a whole. Indeed, there is some concern that separating pre-primary age children from their mothers while they are working may have detrimental effects on child development.In this paper, we attempt to shed some light on this debate by investigating the effect of a large expansion of universal pre-primary education on subsequent primary school performance in Argentina. We examine the returns to pre-primary education by taking advantage of a large infrastructure program aimed at increasing school attendance for children between the ages of 3 to 5. Between 1993 and 1999, Argentina constructed enough classrooms for approximately 175,000 additional children to attend preschool.Our results show that attending pre-primary school had a positive effect on subsequent third grade standardized Spanish and Mathematics test scores. We estimate that one year of pre-primary school increased average third grade test scores by 8 percent of a mean or by 23 percent of the standard deviation of the distribution of test scores. We also find that preprimary school attendance positively affected student's behavioral skills such as attention, effort, class participation, and discipline. This positive effect on behavioral skills provides evidence of possible pathways by which pre-primary might affect subsequent primary school test performance as preschool education facilitates the process of socialization and selfcontrol necessary to make the most of classroom learning. Moreover, behavioral skills are as important as cognitive skills to future success in life.

Although the theoretical case for universal pre-primary education is strong, the empirical foundation is weak. In this paper, we contribute to the empirical case by investigating the effect of a large expansion of universal pre-primary education on subsequent primary school performance in Argentina. We estimate that one year of preprimary school increases average third grade test scores by 8 percent of a mean or by 23 percent of the standard deviation of the distribution of test scores. We also find that preprimary school attendance positively affects student's self-control in the third grade as measured by behaviors such as attention, effort, class participation, and discipline. Executive summaryMost OECD and many middle income countries have turned to universal pre-primary education in order to give children a better start to life. While there is substantial empirical evidence that pre-primary school programs targeted to disadvantaged children have significant benefits, little is known about the benefits for the population as a whole. Indeed, there is some concern that separating pre-primary age children from their mothers while they are working may have detrimental effects on child development.In this paper, we attempt to shed some light on this debate by investigating the effect of a large expansion of universal pre-primary education on subsequent primary school performance in Argentina. We examine the returns to pre-primary education by taking advantage of a large infrastructure program aimed at increasing school attendance for children between the ages of 3 to 5. Between 1993 and 1999, Argentina constructed enough classrooms for approximately 175,000 additional children to attend preschool.Our results show that attending pre-primary school had a positive effect on subsequent third grade standardized Spanish and Mathematics test scores. We estimate that one year of pre-primary school increased average third grade test scores by 8 percent of a mean or by 23 percent of the standard deviation of the distribution of test scores. We also find that preprimary school attendance positively affected student's behavioral skills such as attention, effort, class participation, and discipline. This positive effect on behavioral skills provides evidence of possible pathways by which pre-primary might affect subsequent primary school test performance as preschool education facilitates the process of socialization and selfcontrol necessary to make the most of classroom learning. Moreover, behavioral skills are as important as cognitive skills to future success in life.

Abstract:We study the effect of pre-primary education on children's subsequent school outcomes by exploiting a unique feature of the Uruguayan household survey (ECH) that collects retrospective information on preschool attendance. A rapid expansion in the supply of pre-primary places over the last decade generates sufficient variation in the data to warrant identification. Using a within household estimator that only exploits differences in exposure across siblings, we find small gains from preschool attendance at early ages that magnify as children grow up. By age 16, children that attended preschool have accumulated more than 1 extra year of education and are 27 percentage points more likely to be in school compared to their siblings with no preschool education. We speculate that early grade repetition harms subsequent school progression and that pre-primary education appears as a successful policy option to prevent early grade failure and its long lasting consequences.

Abstract:We study the effect of pre-primary education on children's subsequent school outcomes by exploiting a unique feature of the Uruguayan household survey (ECH) that collects retrospective information on preschool attendance. A rapid expansion in the supply of pre-primary places over the last decade generates sufficient variation in the data to warrant identification. Using a within household estimator that only exploits differences in exposure across siblings, we find small gains from preschool attendance at early ages that magnify as children grow up. By age 16, children that attended preschool have accumulated more than 1 extra year of education and are 27 percentage points more likely to be in school compared to their siblings with no preschool education. We speculate that early grade repetition harms subsequent school progression and that pre-primary education appears as a successful policy option to prevent early grade failure and its long lasting consequences.

We analyse the determinants of ministerial hazard rates in Britain from 1945 to 1997. We focus on three sets of attributes (i) personal characteristics of the minister; (ii) political characteristics of the minister; and (iii) characteristics pertaining to the government in which the minister serves. We find that educational background increases ministers' capacity to survive, that female ministers have lower hazard rates and older ministers have higher hazard rates. Experienced ministers have higher hazard rates than newly appointed ministers. Ministerial rank increases a minister's capacity to survive, with full cabinet members having the lowest hazard rates in our sample. We use different strategies to control for the characteristics of the government the minister serves in. Our results are robust to any of these controls.In the British political system, where policy making is the primary function of departments, rising to ministerial office represents the height of ambition for most backbenchers. Yet we know little about what determines which ministers are successful. James Alt begins his essay on continuity and turnover in the British cabinet with the words: 'It is perhaps more difficult to place this study in the context of the academic literature than to show that it covers a topic of some importance.' 1 Over a quarter of a century later, with the exception of the study by Alt, the literature on ministers in the British cabinet still lacks systematic analysis. Blondel's comment a decade later remains pertinent: the 'study of ministers and ministerial careers is in its infancy'. 2 Of course there is a large literature on the British cabinet. But the historical-cumdescriptive style has largely been concerned with relationships between the prime minister and cabinet colleagues, charting the ever advancing dominance of the premier. 3 Useful histories have described the differing styles

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu Terms of use: Documents in AbstractIn developing countries, employment rates of mothers with young children are relatively lower. This paper analyzes how maternal labor market outcomes in Argentina are affected by the preschool attendance of their children. Using pooled household surveys, we show that four yearolds with birthdays on June 30 have sharply higher probabilities of preschool attendance than children born on July 1, given enrollment-age rules. Regression-discontinuity estimates using this variation suggest that preschool attendance of the youngest child in the household increases the probability of full-time employment and weekly hours of maternal employment. We find no effect of preschool attendance on maternal labor outcomes for children that are not the youngest in the household.JEL Codes: I21, I28, J22

Abstract. We use evidence from the Second Reform Act, introduced in the United Kingdom in 1867, to analyze the impact on electoral outcomes of extending the vote to the unskilled urban population. Exploiting the sharp change in the electorate caused by franchise extension, we separate the effect of reform from that of underlying constituency level traits correlated with the voting population. Although we find that the franchise affected electoral competition and candidate selection, there is no evidence relating Liberal electoral support to changes in the franchise rules. Our results are robust to various sources of endogeneity. 4 From a political science perspective, however, a critical element of the link between franchise extension and policy outcomes is missing. In particular we know little about the political mechanism that relates changes in the franchise to the growth of government. In principle, policy changes caused by franchise extension could arise due to several 4 At the same time the link between franchise reform and fiscal policy appears not to be direct: show a non-monotonic relationship between franchise extension and the probability of adopting income tax; Lindert (1994), assesses the impact of variation in electoral rules across countries and finds little evidence that social spending increased before 1920; Scheve and Stasavage (2008) show tax rates were flat during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, rising sharply as countries mobilized for war; and Aidt and Jensen (2009) and Husted and Kenny (1997) show that institutional tax raising capacity is an important conditioning variable.