Dee Thomas S, Sievertsen Hans Henrik
Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
NBER, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Health Econ. 2018 May;27(5):781-802. doi: 10.1002/hec.3638. Epub 2018 Feb 9.
Using linked Danish survey and register data, we estimate the causal effect of age at kindergarten entry on mental health. Danish children are supposed to enter kindergarten in the calendar year in which they turn 6 years. In a "fuzzy" regression-discontinuity design based on this rule and exact dates of birth, we find that a 1-year delay in kindergarten entry dramatically reduces inattention/hyperactivity at age 7 (effect size = -0.73), a measure of self-regulation with strong negative links to student achievement. The effect is primarily identified for girls but persists at age 11.
利用丹麦的调查数据与登记数据相链接的信息，我们估算了儿童入园年龄对心理健康的因果效应。丹麦儿童应在满6岁的日历年进入幼儿园。基于这一规定和精确的出生日期，在一项“模糊”回归间断设计中，我们发现入园时间推迟1年能显著降低7岁儿童的注意力不集中/多动症状（效应量=-0.73），这是一种自我调节指标，与学生成绩呈强烈负相关。这一效应主要在女孩中得到证实，但在11岁时依然存在。
