Income, policy, and stable center-based child care : towards reducing the achievement gap

Formal child care settings, such as center-based care, are known to increase school readiness, especially among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. Yet, no research to date has empirically tested the causal link between income and center-based care among economically disadvantaged populations. In my dissertation, I answer this call by applying an instrumental variables strategy to analysis of longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) where I leverage state variation in access to state Earned Income Tax Credits as a quasi-experimental instrument for income. My findings, which suggest a causal link between income and the use of center-based child care, represent an important policy-relevant tool by which economic support can foster enhanced early educational experiences that may have important implications for long-term patterns of attainment, achievement, and population health. This study highlights the importance of considering the influence of income support policies beyond their intended scope of promoting financial security and labor market participation. As part of this dissertation, I also extend our limited knowledge of the long-term academic effects of formal child care enrollment by filling a critical gap in integrated data that concurrently tracks family background, early childhood experiences, and reliable academic outcomes. To do this, I created an original dataset linking the Texas subsample of the FFCWS with Texas administrative school records. Results from my analyses indicate population heterogeneity across indicators of school readiness, grade retention, and math and reading achievement scores. This work highlights the importance of creating integrated data systems to answer questions of both theoretical and practical importance. With a national movement towards expansion of public preschool education that is gaining momentum, understanding the long-term impact of early childhood programs is essential.Public Polic