Essays in applied economics
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: ENG- High-quality preschool is often seen as a powerful tool to boost children's development and help parents—especially mothers—balance work and family life. Governments have invested heavily in these programs in recent years. But how effective are they in practice? This PhD dissertation investigates why the answers are not always clear and how early childhood investments can succeed or fall short depending on what happens later in a child’s life. The first part of the dissertation explores how the research we rely on might be skewed. Many studies report positive effects from preschool, while results showing little or no effect are often less likely to be published or highlighted. This is known as publication bias. To examine this, the dissertation uses meta-analysis, a technique that combines the results of many studies and adjusts for the tendency to give greater visibility to findings that are more intuitive or consistent with policy expectations. After correcting for this bias, the findings suggest that the benefits of universal preschool programs—especially for disadvantaged children—are smaller than commonly believed. Promises that early advantages will reappear later in life also receive little support. The second part turns to another key promise of early education: helping mothers enter or stay in the workforce. While this is a common policy goal, the evidence varies widely. To understand why, the dissertation conducts a meta-analysis of studies on preschool and maternal employment. It gives more weight to studies with stronger methods and adjusts for the fact that positive findings are more likely to be reported. After these corrections, the average effect on maternal employment is much lower than often claimed. Still, for mothers who do use the services—especially in lower-income families and areas with high female employment—childcare programs can make a meaningful difference. Finally, the third part of the dissertation looks at what happens after preschool. Does early progress last, or can it be undone by poor conditions later on? The analysis uses data from Catalonia, where a large preschool expansion in the 2000s was followed by austerity-driven staffing cuts in primary schools after the financial crisis. Children who attended public nursery schools performed better in later academic tests—but only if they went on to well-resourced primary schools. When those follow-up conditions were weak, early gains disappeared. Together, the findings show that early education can work—but not in isolation. To deliver lasting benefits, preschool investments need to be followed by continued support and quality throughout a child’s educational path
Author: Brugarolas, Pablo
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7110572353
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