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North Carolina's Smart Start and More at Four (MAF) early childhood programs were evaluated through the end of elementary school (age 11) by estimating the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years on outcomes for all children in each county-year group (n = 1,004,571; 49% female; 61% non-Latinx White, 30% African American, 4% Latinx, 5% other). Student-level regression models with county and year fixed effects indicated significant positive impacts of each program on reading and math test scores and reductions in special education and grade retention in each grade. Effect sizes grew or held steady across years. Positive effects held for both high- and low-poverty families, suggesting spillover of effects to nonparticipating peers.

This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two programs to identify their effects on thirdgrade outcomes. We find that both programs significantly reduce the likelihood of special education placement in the third grade, resulting in considerable cost savings to the state. The effects of the two programs differ across categories of disability, but do not vary significantly across subgroups of children identified by race, ethnicity, and maternal education levels.

This study examines the community-wide effects of two statewide early childhood policy initiatives in North Carolina. One initiative provides funding to improve the quality of child care services at the county level for all children between the ages of 0 to 5, and the other provides funding for preschool slots for disadvantaged four-year-olds. Differences across counties in the timing of the rollout and in the magnitude of the state financial investments per child provide the variation in programs needed to estimate their effects on schooling outcomes in third grade. We find robust positive effects of each program on third-grade test scores in both reading and math. These effects can best be explained by a combination of direct benefits for participants and spillover benefits for others. Our preferred models suggest that the combined average effects on test scores of investments in both programs at 2009 funding levels are equivalent to two to four months of instruction in grade 3. © 2013 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

To what extent do persistent race gaps in educational outcomes stem from differences in the level of advantage that students bring to school or from differences in opportunities to succeed? In order to disentangle the component elements of race gaps in middle school achievement and disciplinary infractions, the authors use demographic methods that quantify the proportion of the race gap that is linked to the student, peer, and school composition of race groups. Using administrative school records from North Carolina, the authors find that (1) students’ family and demographic characteristics are the most important explanatory factors; (2) the distribution of students across schools with differing racial composition, school sizes, teacher qualifications, and poverty levels also contributes to explaining the gaps; but (3) a substantial portion of each race gap remains unexplained by these compositional differences.

Community colleges are complex organizations and assessing their performance, though important, is difficult. Compared to 4-year colleges and universities, community colleges serve a more diverse population and provide a wider variety of educational programs that include continuing education and technical training for adults, and diplomas, associates degrees, and transfer credits for recent high school graduates. Focusing solely on the latter programs of North Carolina's community colleges, we measure the success of each college along two dimensions: attainment of an applied diploma or degree; or completion of the coursework required to transfer to a 4-year college or university. We address three questions. First, how much variation is there across the institutions in these measures of student success? Second, how do these measures of success differ across institutions after we adjust for the characteristics of the enrolled students? Third, how do our measures compare to the measures of success used by the North Carolina Community College System? Although we find variation along both dimensions of success, we also find that part of this variation is attributable to differences in the kinds of students who attend various colleges. Once we correct for such differences, we find that it is not possible to distinguish most of the system's colleges from one another along either dimension. Top-performing institutions, however, can be distinguished from the most poorly performing ones. Finally, our adjusted rates of success show little correlation either to measurable aspects of the various colleges or to the metrics used by the state.

At the aggregate level, return migrants in Puerto Rico in 1970 and 1980 faced greater employment-related difficulties, as compared with nonmigrants. This article explores the individual-level relationship of return migrant status to employment outcomes. The conceptual framework takes into consideration local and regional contextual factors, particularly the employment conditions prevailing in Puerto Rico during this period. Within this framework, specific hypotheses suggest a negative influence of return migrant status, as return migrants are particularly vulnerable to discontinuities in employment and to spells of unemployment. The findings substantiate the hypotheses for both census years and indicate the importance of the duration of residence in the United States and the timing of the return move as mediating factors.

Examines aging trends in Puerto Rico, where the population age 55+ is increasing by 2% a year, compared to a growth rate of 0.5% a year for the total population. These rates are compared to those of other Caribbean nations & the US, & the effect of fertility, mortality, & migration patterns on aging trends is discussed. Puerto Rico experienced a substantial decline in fertility, 1960-1990, as well as a decline in younger-aged mortality. Migration has been the most significant demographic component of population aging in recent decades, with heavy net outmigration of the younger population in the 1960s & 1980s. The importance of migration to & from the US is analyzed, & the impact of the indicated increases on socioeconomic & policy issues discussed, along with the effects of the gender gap in life expectancy. 2 Tables, 7 Figures, 18 References. J. Lindroth

Human capital theories of migration suggest that return migrants have greater potential for economic success than others in the labour force. This paper questions the premise that the migration experience operates as a human capital asset in the income attainment process, focusing on persons residing in Puerto Rico in 1980. The findings indicate that differences in income levels by migration status do not substantiate the hypotheses suggested by the human capital perspective. Instead, return migrant status was found to have small negative effects on earnings. Furthermore, we found no appreciable indirect effects of return migrant status on earnings, as measured through differences in the returns to human capital for returnees and nonmigrants. Las teoriás de migración del capital humano sugieren que los migrantes que regresan al país tienen una mayor posibilidad de éxito económico que el resto de la fuerza laboral. Esta monografía cuestiona la premisa de que la experiencia migratoria constituye un activo para el capital humano en el proceso de obtención del ingreso, utilizando como foco de estudio personas residentes en Puerto Rico en 1980. Las observaciones indican que las diferencias en los niveles de ingreso de los migrantes no corrobora la hipótesis sugerida por la perspectiva del capital humano. Por el contrario, se descubrió que la situación de los migrantes que regresan al país reflejaba un deterioro en las ganancias. Además, no observamos ningún efecto indirecto significativo en las ganancias de los migrantes que retornaron al país, según mediciones comparativas entre las ganancias registradas por los migrantes que regresaron al país y los que no emigraron. Les théories de capital humain de la migration suggèrent que les immigrés de retour sont plus prometteurs de succès économique que d'autres de la main d'oeuvre. Cet article met en doute la prémise que l'expérience de migration fonctionne comme un bien de capital humain dans le processus d'acquérir des revenus, concentrant sur les personnes qui résidaient à Porto Rico en 1980. Les résultats signalent que les différences entre les niveaux de revenus par la situation de migration ne justifient pas l'hypothèse suggérée par la perspective de capital humain. Plutôt, on a trouvé que la situation d'immigrés de retour a peu d'effets négatifs sur les salaires. De plus, on n'a pas trouvé d'effets indirects appréciables de la situation d'immigré de retour sur les salaires, comme mesuré par les différences dans les rapports au capital humain pour les immigrés de retour et les non-immigrés.