Table 3

Robustness Checks and Extensions

ChileColombiaEcuadorNicaraguaPeru
UrbanRuralUrbanRuralUrbanRuralRuralUrbanRural
Common set of assetsaRichest quartile0.790.440.510.620.400.470.43
Poorest quartile−0.48−0.25−0.39−0.54−0.20−0.56−0.34
t-stat of difference10.686.579.228.095.2910.745.30
ConsumptionRichest quartile0.880.490.42
Poorest quartile−0.43−0.23−0.21
t-stat of difference13.036.555.37
Maternal educationHighest education0.160.270.320.440.460.601.120.330.63
Lowest education−0.52−0.33−0.65−0.23−0.42−0.56−0.10−0.80−0.15
t-stat of difference8.974.1410.485.047.409.205.589.526.08
Monolingual mothersRichest quartile0.460.630.520.48
Poorest quartile−0.39−0.57−0.40−0.47
t-stat of difference9.058.307.524.44
Using external normsRichest quartile112.36106.70113.3086.9289.2999.0273.03106.8283.55
Poorest quartile96.6590.3288.5578.2973.6275.0865.6286.9969.20
t-stat of difference6.636.7013.156.869.248.235.988.475.10
Lower and upper boundRichest quartile(0.38, 0.43)(0.41, 0.52)(0.76, 0.79)(0.24, 0.25)(0.39, 0.61)(0.57, 0.68)(0.35, 0.63)(0.49, 0.51)(0.35, 0.51)
Poorest quartile(−0.36, −0.40)(−0.39, −0.46)(−0.46, −0.47)(−0.31, −0.32)(−0.33, −0.46)(−0.50, −0.60)(−0.23, −0.36)(−0.37, −0.47)(−0.29, −0.43)
t-stat of difference(11.40, 15.70)(7.90, 7.80)(13.70, 14.60)(7.30, 7.60)(7.30, 11.10)(7.20, 8.80)(5.00, 8.00)(8.00, 8.50)(3.80, 6.60)
  • Notes: Clustering of standard errors is done at the community or census tract level (Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru) and region level (Chile). The calculations of the mean scores give equal weight to each month of age, within a country and by place of residence (urban or rural). The fraction of mothers with incomplete primary or less education is 3.5 percent for urban Chile, 7.8 percent for rural Chile, 12.3 percent for urban Colombia, 38.5 percent for rural Colombia, 14.3 percent for urban Ecuador, 20.1 percent for rural Ecuador, 68.5 percent for rural Nicaragua, 11.1 percent for urban Peru, and 51.3 percent for rural Peru. The fraction of mothers with complete secondary education or more is 66.3 percent for urban Chile, 42.5 percent for rural Chile, 53.5 percent for urban Colombia, 14.9 percent for rural Colombia, 26.5 percent for urban Ecuador, 23.8 percent for rural Ecuador, 3.7 percent for rural Nicaragua, 56.5 percent for urban Peru, and 13 percent for rural Peru. Children of mothers who speak only Spanish account for 83 percent of the sample in urban Peru, 44.2 percent in rural Peru, 98.7 percent in urban Ecuador, and 98.8 percent in rural Ecuador.

  • a. Assets include: car, type of floor, type of walls, electricity, access to piped water, and possession of cooking stove and refrigerator.