Using technology and behavioral economics to promote development in the early years: The effect of an over-the-phone program

Abstract

- We evaluated an over-the-phone program that combines teleassistance and messaging for families with children aged 0 to 3 years, and focuses on parenting skills and bringing families closer to state resources - Chatbot/messages: well received by treated families (90% is useful) and teleoperators (anchors the sequence of calls around topics) - Results at four months: positive effects on access to government benefits - Outcomes at eight months: positive effects on access to government benefits, parental involvement, parental knowledge, parental wellbeing, and stress reduction - Results are in line with our previous research (Balsa et al. 2021, 2023; Bloomfield et al. 2023), and we now find a drop in parental stress when assessing messaging and teleassistance