Handbook of Media Economics, vol 1B

paper by Kearney and Levine (2015) estimates the effects of this program on educational

and labor market outcomes. To identify these effects, they exploit the fact that Sesame

Street was initially aired by PBS-affiliated stations, which broadcast on UHF in about half

of the cases. Because many TV sets at the time did not receive UHF, and because distance

from transmitters also reduced access, about one-third of the population did not have

access to the show initially. The authors thus exploit variation in coverage across counties

and among cohorts (with children younger than 7 in 1969 considered as “treated” and

older ones as “control” and adopt a difference-in-differences strategy using data from

three Census waves (19802000).

They find evidence ...