Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad logo

Desarro. soc. | eISSN 1900-7760 | ISSN 0120-3584

Childhood development: An approach to its determinants

No. 83 (2019-07-01)
  • Elisa Failache
  • Noemí Katzkowicz

Abstract

The analysis of child development has become extremely important in recent years because of the influence it has throughout people’s life cycle. This paper aims to provide evidence on the situation of early childhood in Uruguay by analyzing its characteristics and determinants. In order to carry out this study, a characterization of early childhood is conducted and different econometric models are applied to evaluate the determinants of child development. For this purpose, the ASQ-3 and CBCL tests collected by the National Child Development and Health Survey are used. In general terms, the characteristics of children and socioeconomic characteristics of households, variables referring to mothers during pregnancy and to newborns, and child-rearing practices have a positive effect on development. Early childhood policies are fundamental to contributing to adequate child development.

Keywords: Childhood, wellbeing, Uruguay

References

Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry. Recuperado de https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243771256_Manual_for_the_ASEBA_Preschool_forms_profiles.

Baker-Henningham, H., & López-Boo, F. (2010). Early childhood stimulation interventions in developing countries: A comprehensive literature review. IZA DP. 5282. Recuperado de http://ftp.iza.org/dp5282.pdf.

.Biroli, P., Del Boca, D., Heckman, J. J., Heckman, L. P., Koh, Y. K., Kuperman, S., Moktan, S., Pronzato, C. D., & Ziff, A. (2017). Evaluation of the reggio approach to early education. National Bureau of Economics Research, Working Paper, No. 23390.

Cabella, W. (2015). Informe final. Encuesta Nacional de Salud, Nutrición y Desarrollo Infantil. Integrantes del Grupo de Estudios de Familia: Cabella, W., De Rosa, M., Failache, E., Fitermann, P., Katzkowicz, N., Medina, M., Mila, J., Nathan, M., Nocetto, A., Pardo, I., Perazzo, I., Salas, G., Salmentón, M., Severi, C., y Vigorito, A. Recuperado de http://www.ine.gub.uy/documents/10181/35704/salud%2C+nutrici%C3%93N+Y+desarrollo+en+la+primera+infancia+en+uruguay+primeros+resultados+de+la+endis/7be3f504-ebb9-4427-bb5d-cb4d9f242a7b.

Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Miller-Johnson, S., Burchinal, M., & Ramey, C. T. (2011). The development of cognitive and academic abilities: Growth curves from an early childhood educational experiment. Developmental Psychology, 37(2), 231-242.

Cawley, J., & Spiess, C. (2008). Obesity and skill attainment in early childhood. Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, 6(3), 388-397.

Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., & Lochner, L. (2006). Interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation. Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier.

Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., & Schennach, S. (2010). Estimating the technology of cognitive and noncognitive skill formation. Econometrica, 78(3), 883-931.

.Dhuey, E., Figlio, D., Karbownik, K., & Roth, J. (2017). School starting age and cognitive development. National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper, No. 23660.

Di Cesare, M., & Sabates, R. (2017). Access to antenatal care and children’s cognitive development: A comparative analysis in Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and India. International Journal in Public Health, 58(3), 459-467.

Elango, S., García, J. L., Heckman, J., & Hojman, A. (2015). Early childhood education. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Papers, No. 21766.

Felfe, C., & Lalive, R. (2014). Does early child care help or hurt children’s development? IZA Discussion Paper, No. 8484.

Fletcher, J., & Wolfe, B. (2016). The importance of family income in the formation and evolution of non-cognitive skills in childhood. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 22168.

Golberstein, E., Gonzales, G., & Meara, E. (2016). Economic conditions and children’s mental health. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 22459.

Heckman, J. (1995). Lessons from the bell curve. Journal of Political Economy, 103(51), 1051-1120.

Heckman, J. (2000). Policies to foster human capital. Research in Economics, 54(1), 3-56.

Heckman, J. (2007). The economics, technology, and neuroscience of human capability formation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104, 13250-13255.

Heckman, J., & Carneiro, P. (2003). Human capital policy. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 9495.

Heckman, J., Sisxturd, J., & Urzúa, S. (2006). The effects of cognitive and noncognitive abilities on labor market outcomes and social behavior. Journal of Labor Economics, 24(7), 411-482.

Heckman, J., & Conti, G. (2012). The economics of child well-being. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 18466.

Heckman, J., & Kautz, T. (2013). Fostering and measuring skills: Interventions that improve character and cognition. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 19656.

Heckman, J., Pinto, R., & Savelyev, P. (2013). Understanding the mechanisms through which an influential early childhood program boosted adult outcomes. The American Economic Review, 103(6), 2052-2086.

Juhn, C., Rubinstein, Y., & Zuppann, A. (2015). The quantity-quality trade-off and the formation of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 21824.

Katzkowicz, N., & Querejeta, M. (2017). Asistencia temprana a centros de cuidado y desarrollo infantil. Evidencia para Uruguay. Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica-Proyectos Iniciación a la Investigación, Universidad de la República Uruguay (en revisión).

Kottelenber, M., & Lehrer, S. (2017). Does Quebec’s subsidized child care policy give boys and girls an equal start? National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper, No. 23259.

Loeb, S., Bridges, M., Bassok, D., Fuller, B., & Rumberger, R. (2007). How much is too much? The influence of preschool centers on children’s social and cognitive development. Economics of Education Review, 26(1), 52-66.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2007). The science of early childhood development. Recuperado de http://developingchild.net.

Nores, M., & Barnett, S. (2010). Benefits of early childhood interventions across the world: (Under) Investing in the very young. Economics of Education Review, 29(2), 271-282.

Salas, G. (2016). Essays on equality of opportunity and public policy (tesis doctoral). Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Departamento de Economía Aplicada. Recuperado de https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/tesis/2016/hdl_10803_400568/gosa1de1.pdf.

Sánchez, A. (2017). The structural relation between early nutrition, cognitive skills and non cognitive skills in four developing countries. Journal of Economics and Biology, 27(Part A), 33-54.

Squire, J., Twombly, E., Bricker, D., & Potter, L. (2009). ASQ-3: User’s guide. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Recuperado de http://archive.brookespublishing.com/documents/asq-3-technical-report.pdf.

Urzúa, S., & Veramendi, G. (2011). The impact of out-of-home childcare centers on early childhood development. IDB Working Paper Series, No. 240.

Wooldrige. (2001). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. London: The MIT Press. Recuperado de https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/econometric-analysis-cross-section-and-panel-data-second-edition.