Cross-Productivities of Executive Functions : Evidence from a Field Experiment

Preschool programs can have lasting effects on education and labor market outcomes, but we have limited knowledge of what skills these programs should target. Executive functions at school-start predict academic success, yet we do not know if preschool program-induced improvements in executive functions boost achievement in primary school. by combining experimental data with a skill-building model, we find that preschool program-induced improvements in executive functions led to improvements in mathematical and language skills in primary school. This finding suggests a dynamic complementarity: Preschool investments in executive functions increase the effectiveness of primary school investments in promoting mathematical and language skills