Data and Code for: Reducing Inequality through Dynamic Complementarity: Evidence from Head Start and Public School Spending

We compare the adult outcomes of cohorts who were differentially exposed
to policy-induced changes in Head Start and K–12 spending, depending on
place and year of birth. IV and sibling-difference estimates indicate
that, for poor children, these policies both increased educational
attainment and earnings, and reduced poverty and incarceration. The
benefits of Head Start were larger when followed by access to
better-funded schools, and increases in K–12 spending were more
efficacious when preceded by Head Start exposure. The findings suggest
dynamic complementarities, implying that early educational investments
that are sustained may break the cycle of poverty.<br>