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Critical Periods in Cognitive and Socioemotional Development: Evidence from Weather Shocks in Indonesia

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  • Duncan Webb

Abstract

Early-life circumstances are important determinants of long-run human capital and well-being outcomes. The first 1,000 days of life are often cited as a ‘critical period’ for child development, but this notion has rarely been directly tested. In a setting where children are potentially subject to shocks in every year of their childhood, I estimate the impact of early-life weather shocks on adult cognitive and socioemotional outcomes for individuals born in rural Indonesia between 1988 and 2000. There is a strong critical period for these shocks at age two for cognitive development, but no evidence for a similar critical period for socioemotional development. The effects appear to be driven by changes in agricultural income and nutritional investment. The impacts are initially latent, only appearing after age 15. I show suggestive evidence for dynamic complementarity in early-life investments.

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  • Duncan Webb, 2024. "Critical Periods in Cognitive and Socioemotional Development: Evidence from Weather Shocks in Indonesia," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(660), pages 1637-1665.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:134:y:2024:i:660:p:1637-1665.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ej/uead105
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