Leading US economists are coming out in droves to support what many social scientists and early childhood psychologists have been arguing for decades: when society invests wisely in children, the next generation will pay that back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship.
Education Programs Provide Financial Benefits
The Economic Policy Institute’s report, “Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development,” presents empirical calculations that show how education programs for 3 and 4 year-old children ultimately provide many financial benefits to local governments, taxpayers and society in general in the form of higher earnings and reduced crime.
According to the report, high-quality programs contribute directly to higher employment and wages, better health, less crime, less poverty, greater government resources, reductions in race and gender inequalities, and higher levels of verbal, math and intellectual achievement for participating students.
