The authors use Young Lives data about Peruvians aged 8-22, part of the study’s older cohort born in 1994, to estimate a dynamic model of socio-emotional skill development. They show that inequalities begin to emerge by age 12 and widen through to age 19, driven by differential household investments and cross-productivity with cognitive skills. When individuals reach adulthood at age 22, they show that socio-emotional skills can be separated into two distinct domains – social skills and task effectiveness skills – which develop differently, especially with regard to time use and cross-productivity with cognition. They found that individuals with higher task effectiveness are less likely to have engaged in risky behaviours such as smoking, taking drugs, and engaging with gangs.

Download the paper from the Journal of Human Resources or read the associated working paper.