Hi #EconTwitter, I’m a job market candidate at the University of Tennessee. I research topics in labor and public economics and I’m excited to talk to you about my job market paper! #EconJobMarket

Link: https://papers.corabennett.org/ILdraft.pdf 
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Now that we’re all thankful for Dolly Parton’s Covid research donation, let’s talk about one of her other philanthropic ventures: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library!

2 Minute Video:
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How much do in-home labor and capital inputs matter to young children? I examine this question using the national roll-out of Imagination Library, a program that gives free books to children before they enter kindergarten.
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We know that early childhood is the most important time for cognitive skill development. Preschool investments are highly effective, but what about investments in the home prior to formal schooling?
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Specifically, how do in-home capital investments affect later academic achievement? Using Imagination Library as an in-home capital investment, I find no differences between cohorts with access to the program and those without.
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This might seem counterintuitive - more bookssmarter kids, right?
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Using the exogenous variation from the national roll out of the program, I can assess whether or not *access* to the program affects academic achievement. Simply having access to the program does not affect third and fourth grade standardized test scores.
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While the program does provide books to children, it does not provide parental guidance or instruction on a national level. The results suggest that in-home capital investments alone are not strong enough to have a meaningful effect. 8/n

Without a labor investment (more time spent between parents and children) – in this case, actually reading the books, the capital investment does not transform into human capital skillssmall capital investments are only effective in a complementary form. 9/n

These results have direct policy implications. When we think early childhood investments, my research suggests that pure capital investments are not sufficient. We should consider investing in programs that combine capital and labor to utilize their complementarity! 10/n

Thanks for reading this thread about my JMP! Please contact me with any feedback or questions!
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