TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Berlinski, Samuel
AU  - Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna
AU  - Sóñora-Noya, Alba
        TI  - Gender Gaps in Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
        PY  - 2025/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17837
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17837
        AB  - We examine gender gaps in early childhood cognitive and social-behavioral skills across several Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Our study complements previous research focused on older children by analyzing the preschool period, a critical stage for lifelong human capital formation. We find that the female advantage commonly observed in school-aged children’s achievement, as well as in high school enrollment and completion in both high-income and LAC countries, is also frequently evident in early childhood within our sample of LAC countries. On average, girls outperform boys in various developmental measures and are less likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, these gender gaps generally remain stable across the distributions of developmental outcomes. Unlike findings for older children in high-income countries, our results suggest that during early childhood in LAC, boys and girls do not show differential benefits from socioeconomic status or a more favorable home environment.
        KW  - parental investments
KW  - gender
KW  - early childhood development
KW  - family disadvantage
        ER  -