Category Archives: Distribution of benefits

What is the evidence for whether preschool works for more advantaged children? Part III: Evidence from a random assignment experiment

As I mentioned in a previous post, most of the random assignment experiments for the effects of preschool have focused on disadvantaged students. In general, foundations and governments have not financed random assignment experiments on how preschool has affected more … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs | 1 Comment

What is the evidence for whether preschool works for more advantaged children? Part II: Evidence from Tulsa studies

Studies of pre-k in Tulsa, by William Gormley and his colleagues at Georgetown, provide good direct evidence on the relative effects of a state pre-school program on kindergarten readiness for different income groups. Tulsa participates in Oklahoma’s universal pre-k program, … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs | 2 Comments

What is the evidence for whether preschool works for more advantaged children? Part I, Studies of state pre-k programs that are not exclusively focused on the poor

I have been discussing how the economic development benefits of pre-k vary across different income groups (e.g., lower class vs. middle class vs. upper class).  This is a key issue in deciding on the merits of “targeted pre-k”, which would … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs | 2 Comments

What does the distinction between universal versus targeted preschool mean?

When we talk about creating “universal” access to preschool, versus expanding “targeted” preschool, we largely are asking whether we should just expand preschool for the poor, versus whether we should also expand preschool for the working class and middle class. … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs | 1 Comment

Early childhood programs and income distribution: some points of agreement

In this post, and subsequent posts, I will consider how early childhood programs affect the earnings of different income groups. As part of this discussion, I will also consider the politically contentious issue of whether expanded pre-K programs should be … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs | Comments Off on Early childhood programs and income distribution: some points of agreement

Why business incentives are progressive at the local level, but only to a limited degree

In this post, and a series of subsequent posts, I will consider how different types of economic development programs affect lower income versus middle income versus upper income groups.  This topic is considered in chapter 8 of my book Investing … Continue reading

Posted in Business incentives, Distribution of benefits | Comments Off on Why business incentives are progressive at the local level, but only to a limited degree