Asian Social Science; Vol. 14, No. 6; 2018 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 131 Early Childhood Education and Child Development Outcomes in Least Developed Countries: Empirical Evidence from Lao PDR Manivone Phongsopha 1 & Piriya Pholphirul 1 1 Graduate School of Development Economics, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand Correspondence: Piriya Pholphirul, Graduate School of Development Economics, National Institute of Development Administration, Serithai Road, Klong-Chan, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240, Thailand. Tel: 66-081-171-3213. E-mail: piriya@nida.ac.th Received: April 15, 2018 Accepted: May 2, 2018 Online Published: May 28, 2018 doi:10.5539/ass.v14n6p131 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v14n6p131 Abstract Given the benefits of early childhood education, many countries try to ensure universal accessibility to early childhood education. However, with their limited budgets and chronic poverty, least developed countries face a huge disadvantage in providing access to early childhood education, especially for children of lower income families and those living in remote areas. This study aims to determine how accessibility to early childhood education and child development affects cognitive, learning, physical, and social-emotional readiness. We use nationally representative data from the Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) for a case study of Lao PDR, which is representative of least-developed countries. Our estimation indicates that mother’s educational attainment and economic status of the family have an important impact on children’s preschool enrollment. In terms of children’s development, receiving early childhood education is likely to play a significant role in developing cognitive skills. Furthermore, in addition to early childhood education per se, activities associated such education also play an important role in fostering children’s development. Hence, early childhood education should be promoted in order to enhance all children’s access to preschools and thus ensure that their development remains on track. Keywords: early childhood education, child development, education inequality, least developed countries, Lao PDR 1. Introduction Education is viewed as an investment in human capital that enhances the nature of individuals’ lives in ways that bring advantages to their personal and economic prosperity (Acemoglu & Autor, 2011). Even though at the national level increasing educational attainment may not appear to return measureable positive economic outcomes, when human capital is measured in terms of cognitive skills, the benefits become more apparent (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2012). Heckman (2012) has shown that the critical time for strengthening cognitive skills is from birth to age five, when the brain grows quickly as it establishes the cognitive capabilities and character traits fundamental for proper achievement. According to the World Bank, this process has five steps, called “STEP” (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) 1 . The first step, “getting children off to the right start,” is crucial for human productivity and lifelong learning and needs to occur early in a child’s life. Accordingly, early childhood education, including ensuring access to preschool, has been given policy precedence in various countries. The considerable transformation that occurs in preschool may concentrate on one or several aspects of children’s development (UNESCO, 2006). For example, learning early in life is essential for development of those human skills that are needed in the long term (Opel, Ameer, & Aboud, 2009). In addition, the beneficial outcome of attending preschool has been found to lower the chance of early drop-out and grade failure, as well as to increase IQ scores(Berlinski, Galiani, & Manacorda, 2008) 2 . In developed countries, for example, the United Kingdom, with its Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project, children’s intellectual and social-emotional well-being were enhanced and the good results of this evidenced during their first three years in primary education 3 . Nevertheless, the activities of parents and children played an important role in helping children, especially disadvantaged children, to develop on track (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2004). Furthermore, in the United States there are special public programs such as the “Carolina Abecedarian Project” 4 , the “Chicago Child-Parent Center Program” 5 , and the “Perry Preschool