Data and Code for: Age at School Entry and Human Capital Development: Evidence from Lesotho

There is scant evidence on the impact of school-entry age in lower-income countries. We assess the impact of school starting age on human capital development in Lesotho, exploiting an enrollment age threshold. Children who defer primary school by one year overcome initial skill deficits as they progress through school. They are more likely to stay in school, spend fewer hours on economic and household activities, and obtain substantially higher total years of schooling. In adulthood, they are more likely to have professional occupations and less likely to be married or have children as teenagers, become HIV-infected (men), and experience the death of a child (women).