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Title: The Development of Early Skills: Self-Productivity and Cross-Fertilization
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Thomas, Jason R.
Oi, Katsuya
The Development of Early Skills: Self-Productivity and Cross-Fertilization
Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); British Cohort Study (BCS); Child Development; Human Capital; NCDS - National Child Development Study (British); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Skill Formation

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Cunha and Heckman (2007) have developed a model of human capital formation that identifies a key feature of the developmental process – “self-productivity.”This concept refers to the notion that capabilities developed by time t - 1 enhance capabilities at later stages of development (e.g. at time t). An interesting corollary is that one dimension of development (e.g. non-cognitive or social skills) fosters the develop of different dimensions of development at later stages of life (e.g. cognitive skills). This paper offers simple tests of the process of “self-productivity” using several different longitudinal data sets that contain repeated measures of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. To the extent that we find empirical support for the model developed by Cunha and Heckman (2007), the implications of the model – namely, the importance of early and continued investments in early life – should receive attention in the policy arena.
Bibliography Citation
Thomas, Jason R. and Katsuya Oi. "The Development of Early Skills: Self-Productivity and Cross-Fertilization." Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013.