Early Childhood Human Capital Investment and Early Child Outcomes

The development of young children during early childhood is a vital factor in shaping their abilities and skills in adulthood. This study examines the relationship between time and material investments that are spent on the children to enhance their human capital in the early years of life and early children development of young children between the ages of 3 to 4 years old in Turkey. Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) for the year 2018 is used to implement the empirical analysis. Development of children is measured by the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) and by its four domains which are physical growth, socio-emotional skills, readiness to learn and literacy-numeracy skills. While 46% of children are meeting expected milestones in terms of physical growth, this rate is 52% for the socio-emotional skills. Although a significant percentage of children (88%) are prepared for learning, only a small fraction (13%) demonstrate literacy and numeracy skills that align with their developmental stage. Due to the structure of the dependent variables, a probit model is applied. The results confirm many existing findings for developing countries. Findings show that children who have engaged in certain activities along with an adult household member (time investment) have a higher probability to be proficient in the elements of ECDI. Compared to the children who have no books, children who have at least three books (material investment) also have a higher probability to be on the track in terms of developmental skills.