We evaluate the short- and medium-term heath impacts of Sure Start, a large-scale and univer-sal early childhood program in England. We exploit the rollout of the program and implement a difference-in-difference approach, combining data on the exact location and opening date of Sure Start centers with administrative data on the universe of admissions to public-sector hospitals. Exposure to an additional Sure Start center per thousand age-eligible children increases hospitalization by 10% at age 1 (around 6,700 hospitalizations per year), but reduces them by 8-9% across ages 11 to 15 (around 13,150 hospitalizations per year). These findings show that early childhood programs that are less intensive than small-scale ‘model programs’ can deliver significant health benefits, even in contexts with universal healthcare. Impacts are driven by hospitalizations for preventable conditions and are concentrated in disadvantaged areas, suggesting that enriching early childhood environments might be a successful strategy to reduce inequalities in health.
Authors
Associate Director
Sarah is an Associate Director in the Education and Skills sector at the IFS, holding a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Research Fellow University College London
Gabriella is a Research Fellow of the IFS and a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and in the Department of Social Science at UCL.
Research Associate University of Bergen
Rita is an IFS Research Associate, an Associate Professor at the University of Bergen and a Research Associate at the Uppsala University.
Associate Director
Christine's research examines inequalities in children's education and health, especially in the early education and childcare sector.
Maud Pecher
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2021.2521
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
Cattan, S et al. (2021). The health impacts of universal early childhood interventions: evidence from Sure Start. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/health-impacts-universal-early-childhood-interventions-evidence-sure-start (accessed: 11 May 2024).
Grant
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