Long-Run Benefits from Universal High-Quality Pre-Schooling

This paper investigates the role of preschool quality for children's school performance at the end of primary school. We construct five structural quality indicators based on unique Danish administrative register data. The analysis uses data of 30,444 children who finished primary school's 9th grade in 2008 and attended a formal preschool institution in 1998. OLS analyses show that three out of five quality indicators, a higher staff-per-child ratio, a higher share of male staff, and a higher share of staff with formal preschool teacher training are associated with significant improvements in children's test results in Danish. Boys benefit more from preschool quality than girls. Ethnic minority children benefit from higher staff stability