Switchers and Nonswitchers Vary along Dimensions Other than Family Size
| Switch (1) | Nonswitch (2) | p-Value (1) = (2) (3) | Beta Switch (4) | p-Value (4) (5) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panel A: Individual Covariates | |||||
| Fraction female | 0.562 | 0.495 | 0.001 | 0.024 | 0.472 |
| Fraction African-American | 0.516 | 0.111 | 0.000 | 0.249 | 0.000 |
| Mother’s years education | 9.283 | 11.230 | 0.000 | −0.140 | 0.453 |
| Father’s years education | 9.190 | 11.371 | 0.000 | −0.389 | 0.075 |
| Had a single mother at age 4 | 0.252 | 0.099 | 0.000 | 0.055 | 0.011 |
| Family income (age 3–6) | 31809 | 52574 | 0.000 | −4759 | 0.000 |
| (CPI adjusted) | |||||
| Mother employed, age 0 | 0.508 | 0.570 | 0.013 | 0.055 | 0.019 |
| Mother employed, age 1 | 0.517 | 0.543 | 0.281 | 0.058 | 0.018 |
| Mother employed, age 2 | 0.536 | 0.554 | 0.439 | 0.118 | 0.000 |
| Household size at age 4 | 5.487 | 4.451 | 0.000 | 0.755 | 0.000 |
| Fraction low birth weight | 0.077 | 0.058 | 0.075 | 0.010 | 0.483 |
| Observations | 1103 | 5500 | 6603 | 7372 | 7372 |
| Panel B: Inverse Selection into Identification Weights | |||||
| Pr(switch)/Pr(Head Start), Whites | 2.993 (2.17) | 2.347 (1.95) | |||
| Pr(switch)/Pr(Head Start), Blacks | 1.969 (1.29) | 1.137 (1.03) | |||
Source: Panel Study of Income Dynamics 1968–2011 waves.
Notes: Panel A of this table presents comparisons of the characteristics of individuals in switching families and nonswitching families. Columns 1, 2, and 3, respectively, show the mean characteristics of individuals in families that are switchers, individuals in families that are not switchers, and individuals that attended Head Start (HS) in nonswitcher families. Column 3 presents the p-value for the test that Columns 1 and 2 are equal. Column 4 shows the estimates from a regression of each row heading on an indicator for being in a switcher family, with the corresponding p-value shown in Column 5, with standard errors clustered on id1968. All controls from the main specification are included, except the variable shown in the row heading. All estimates are weighted to be representative of 1995 population; see text for details. Panel B shows the mean and standard deviation (in parentheses) of the inverse of the post-regression propensity score weights when the target is Head Start participants. This gives a measure of how aligned the characteristics of switchers are with the characteristics of Head Start participants, the population of interest. An average value of one implies perfect alignment, while a higher value implies that the characteristics of switchers are overrepresented relative to the characteristics of Head Start participants. Pr(switch) and Pr(Head Start) are estimated from a multinomial logit model of these outcomes on family size and other covariates described in the text.