INVESTING IN HEALTH: THE LONG‐TERM IMPACT OF HEAD START ON SMOKING |
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| Authors: | KATHRYN H ANDERSON JAMES E FOSTER DAVID E FRISVOLD |
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| Institution: | 1. Anderson: Professor, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235‐1819. Phone 1‐615‐322‐0263, Fax 1‐615‐343‐8495, E‐mail kathryn.anderson@vanderbilt.edu;2. Foster: Professor, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235‐1819. Phone 1‐615‐322‐2192, Fax 1‐615‐343‐8495, E‐mail james.e.foster@vanderbilt.edu;3. Frisvold: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322‐2240. Phone 1‐404‐727‐7833, Fax 1‐404‐727‐4639, E‐mail david.frisvold@emory.edu;4. The authors thank Jeremy Attack, Alison Aughinbaugh, Dale Ballou, J. S. Butler, William Collins, Robert Margo, participants at the American Economic Association Annual Conference, Econometric Society World Congress, Society of Labor Economists Annual Meetings, and Southern Economic Association Annual Conference, and seminar participants at Vanderbilt University for helpful comments. Financial support for this research was provided by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (1 R03 HD045547‐01A1) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Frisvold and Foster). |
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| Abstract: | Head Start is a comprehensive, early childhood development program designed to augment the human capital and health capital levels of disadvantaged children. Evaluations of Head Start have tended to focus on cognitive outcomes; however, there is increasing recognition that other important outcomes can be influenced by participation. This article evaluates the long‐term impact of Head Start participation on smoking behavior in young adulthood by comparing the behavior of adults who attended Head Start with those of siblings who did not. We find that participation in Head Start reduces the probability that an individual smokes cigarettes as a young adult. (JEL I12, I28, I38) |
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