PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mitchell, Mark
AU  - Favara, Marta
AU  - Porter, Catherine
AU  - Sánchez, Alan
TI  - Human Capital Development
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.1120-11342R1
DP  - 2025 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1175--1216
VI  - 60
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/4/1175.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/4/1175.full
AB  - We estimate a dynamic model of socio-emotional skill development between ages eight and 22 for a Peruvian cohort born in 1994. At age eight there is no wealth gradient, in contrast to cognitive skills. However, by age 12, inequalities emerge and widen through age 19, driven by differential household investments, and cross-productivity with cognitive skills. In early adulthood, we separate socio-emotional skills into two distinct domains—social skills and task effectiveness—that evolve differently and are differently correlated with risky behaviors, such as smoking or taking drugs. Unequal initial household resources perpetuate inequality across generations through cognitive and task effectiveness skills.