title: Cost savings of developmental screenings: Evidence from a nationwide program.
abstract: Early intervention is considered the optimal response to developmental disorders in children. We evaluate a nationwide developmental screening program for preschoolers in Austria and the resulting interventions. Identification of treatment effects is determined by a birthday cutoff-based discontinuity in the eligibility for a financial incentive to participate in the screening. Assigned preschoolers are 14.5 percentage points more likely to participate in the program. For participants with high socio-economic status (SES), we find little evidence for interventions and consistently no effect on healthcare costs in the long run. For low SES preschoolers, we find evidence for substantial interventions, but only weak evidence for cost savings in the long run.
authors.affiliation: University of Innsbruck, Austria; IZA, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany; Christian Doppler Laboratory - Aging, Health and the Labor Market, Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halla
authors.affiliation: Christian Doppler Laboratory - Aging, Health and the Labor Market, Linz, Austria; Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria. Electronic address: gerald.pruckner@jku.at.
authors.forename: Gerald J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Pruckner
authors.affiliation: Christian Doppler Laboratory - Aging, Health and the Labor Market, Linz, Austria; Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schober
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017046:Cost Savings; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational / Q000191:economics*; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans
keywords: Child development; Developmental disorder; Developmental screening; Early intervention; Healthcare cost