Category Archives: Timing of benefits

Expanded pre-K is fiscally sustainable

Posted on April 11, 2013 by

The popular Washington Post blog “Wonkblog” had a post on April 11 2013 from Brad Plumer that got my attention with this headline:  “Funding preschool with a cigarette tax is unsustainable”. The gist of the article is as follows: Although … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits | 8 Comments

My TEDx talk on why early childhood programs are key to local economic development

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

My recent TEDx talk is now posted on YouTube.  In 15 minutes, this talk summarizes my argument for why early childhood programs can build stronger local economies.  It summarizes some of the key points from my book Investing in Kids. … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Economic development, Timing of benefits

Special education cost savings

Posted on May 22, 2012 by

A recent report released by ReadyNation, prepared with support from the Kauffman Foundation, provides much research information on how special education cost-savings might be used to fund high-quality pre-K. The report, written by Rob Dugger and Bob Litan, argues that … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits

Making the case for pre-K: some fiscal and economic arithmetic

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

Andrew Rotherham has an April 5th Time magazine column with the ominous title, “Are Pre-K Programs About To Get Gutted?” Mr. Rotherham apparently has access to an advance copy of the forthcoming annual report on state preschool programs from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs, Economic development, National vs. state vs. local, Timing of benefits

Responding to six arguments of skeptics of early childhood programs

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

I recently gave two lengthy presentations on early childhood programs in Grand Haven, Michigan and Newaygo County, Michigan.  My draft speech, which goes for 8 pages, is here. The PowerPoint accompanying this speech is at the link at the bottom … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits

Do early childhood programs pay for themselves?

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

Today I continue to provide brief responses to questions I have received at presentations. Today’s question: “Do early childhood programs pay for themselves?” In the long-run, high quality early childhood programs are self-financing; in the short-run, a significant portion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits

New long-term estimates of the effects of the Abecedarian program

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

Recently, Frances Campbell and her colleagues have published a paper that provides new long-term estimates of the effects of the Abecedarian program. These estimates suggest greater long-run benefits of the Abecedarian program than were projected based on previous results at … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Economic development, Timing of benefits | 3 Comments

How will investing in kids pay off in the short-run?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by

I’m continuing to do a series of posts that provide brief answers to questions I’ve received about early childhood programs. Today’s question: “How will investing in kids pay off in the short-run? The major benefits of investing in early childhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits

How do payoffs differ between early interventions and late interventions?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by

A recent paper, by Susan Dynarski, Joshua Hyman, and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, has received some attention in the early education community, and elsewhere. The paper is entitled “Experimental Evidence on the Effect of Childhood Investments on Postsecondary Attainment and Degree … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits

How does preschool have long-run effects?

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

A recently published book has some interesting findings on the causal chain of events by which high-quality preschool education has long-run effects on adult outcomes. The book is “Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life”. I recommend … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Timing of benefits