After-School Care and Children’s Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills

What is the impact of after-school center-based care on the
development of primary school-aged children? Answering this question is challenging
due to non-random selection of children into after-school center-based
care. We tackle this challenge using detailed data of the German Child Panel and
employing a value-added method. While we do not find significant effects on
average, our analysis provides evidence for beneficial returns to after-school
center-based care attendance for more disadvantaged children. To be more
precise, children of less educated mothers and low-income families benefit
from attending after-school care centers in terms of their socio-behavioral
development.