Nobel Laureate James Heckman has recently released new research showing that investing in high-quality child care for children from birth to age 5 shows tremendous benefits for both the children and parents 30 years later. He estimates the rate of return on investment to be 13% a year.
One unusual aspect of the study is that it looks at both generations involved with excellent early childhood care. Children grow up with better outcomes in the areas of health, education, crime and income. Parents who enrolled their children in these high-quality, full-day programs showed improved income-generating potential and higher education levels.
“It promotes social mobility within — and across — generations. That I think is an important finding of this study,” says Professor Heckman.
Read more from NPR or the Washington Post.
The Collaboration hosted a talk by Professor Heckman at Unity Temple in November 2012:
