The Impacts of Preschool Education on Children's Cognitive and Non-cognitive Development—Evidence from a Rapid Expansion of Kindergartens in China
We attempt to examine the impact of preschool education on both cognitive and non-cogni-tive development of children.Exploiting a rapid expansion in kindergarten availability in China,we employ a difference-in-differences approach.Using data from the China Family Panel Studies,we demonstrate that an increase in kindergarten density significantly increases a child's likelihood of kindergarten enrollment.Moreover,preschool education leads to a significant improvement in children's cognitive scores,particu-larly in math test scores,with no significant effects on non-cognitive skills.We further show that pre-school education has a more pronounced impact on cognitive skills among children from low socioeconomic status households.