WPS3922-IE <mark>I</mark> MPACT <mark>E</mark> VALUATION <mark>S</mark> ERIES <mark>N</mark> O <mark>. 2</mark>

# **Early Childhood Development through an Integrated Program: Evidence from the Philippines***

Graeme Armecin<sup>a</sup> , Jere R. Behrman<sup>b</sup> , Paulita Duazo<sup>a</sup> , Sharon Ghuman<sup>c</sup> , Socorro Gultiano<sup>a</sup> , Elizabeth M. King<sup>d</sup> and Nanette Lee<sup>a, e</sup> aOffice of Population Studies, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines bEconomics Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA cThe Population Council, New York, NY dThe World Bank, Washington, DC eUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

**Corresponding author** :  Elizabeth M. King, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC 20433; eking@worldbank.org

Keywords: early childhood development; program evaluation; Philippines World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3922, May 2006 _The Impact Evaluation Series has been established in recognition of the importance of impact evaluation studies for World Bank operations and for development in general. The series serves as a vehicle for the dissemination of findings of those studies. Papers in this series are part of the Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent._

***** The authors are listed alphabetically to indicate that this paper is a product of a team project in which all the authors contributed in different ways. We thank the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Study Team at the Office of Population Studies (OPS) of the University of San Carlos for excellent support at all stages of the study; Dr. Lina Laigo and the Council for the Welfare of Children of the Philippine Government for enlightening discussions about government policy on ECD; Mike Argonza and the ECD Project Management Office for providing administrative data on program implementation; the World Bank ECD project managers for their encouragement and support; and Jun Pacificador for excellent input on sampling issues. We are also grateful for the financial support of various organizations: Grant R01-TW05604 (“Filipino Early Childhood Development: Longitudinal Analysis”) funded by the National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research; the Global Development Network; the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of the Government of the Philippines; the World Bank Research Support Budget (RPO 682-34); and a NICHD postdoctoral training fellowship for Ghuman (5 T32 HD07339) through the University of Michigan. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Population Association of American (PAA) Annual Meetings in Philadelphia on April 1, 2005 and at the World Bank. We thank Susan Parker (discussant at the PAA) and participants at the PAA and World Bank presentations for helpful comments and input on the analysis **.**