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The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children

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Author Info
James J Heckman ()

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Abstract

This paper presents the case for investing more in young American children who grow up in disadvantaged environment. It is argued that, on productivity grounds, it makes sense to invest in young children from disadvantaged environments. Substantial evidence shows that these children are more likely to commit crime, have out-of-wedlock births and drop out of school. Early interventions that partially remediate the effects of adverse environments can reverse some of the harm of disadvantage and have a high economic return. They benefit not only the children themselves, but also their children, as well as society at large [NBER WP 13016].

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Paper provided by esocialsciences.com in its series Working Papers with number id:1020.

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Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:1020

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Keywords: investing; productivity; disadvantaged; young children; adverse; econmy; intervention;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Carol Corrado & John Haltiwanger & Dan Sichel, 2005. "Measuring Capital in the New Economy," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number corr05-1.
  2. Levitt, Steven D, 1997. "Using Electoral Cycles in Police Hiring to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 270-90, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Anderson, David A, 1999. "The Aggregate Burden of Crime," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 611-42, October.
  4. Pedro Carneiro & James J. Heckman, 2002. "The Evidence on Credit Constraints in Post--secondary Schooling," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 705-734, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. David Blau & Janet Currie, 2004. "Preschool, Day Care, and Afterschool Care: Who's Minding the Kids?," NBER Working Papers 10670, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Cunha, Flavio & Heckman, James J. & Lochner, Lance, 2006. "Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Janet Currie, 2001. "Early Childhood Education Programs," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 213-238, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 1998. "Technology And Changes In Skill Structure: Evidence From Seven Oecd Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1215-1244, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Donohue, John J, III & Siegelman, Peter, 1998. "Allocating Resources among Prisons and Social Programs in the Battle against Crime," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, January.
  10. James J. Heckman & Jora Stixrud & Sergio Urzua, 2006. "The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior," NBER Working Papers 12006, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. John M. Barron & Mark C. Berger & Dan A. Black, 2006. "Selective Counteroffers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 385-410, July. [Downloadable!]
  12. Eliana Garces & Duncan Thomas & Janet Currie, 2002. "Longer-Term Effects of Head Start," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 999-1012, September. [Downloadable!]
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  13. David Card & Alan Krueger, 1990. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Public Schools in the United States," Working Papers 645, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Eric A. Hanushek, 2003. "The Failure of Input-Based Schooling Policies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(485), pages F64-F98, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  16. Martin, John P. & Grubb, David, 2001. "What works and for whom: a review of OECD countries' experiences with active labour market policies," Working Paper Series 2001:14, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
  17. Flavio Cunha & James Heckman, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," NBER Working Papers 12840, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Katz, Lawrence F. & Autor, David H., 1999. "Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1463-1555 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James & Masterov, Dimitriy, 2004. "Labor market discrimination and racial differences in premarket factors," Working Paper Series 2005:3, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
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  21. Ellwood, David T. & Jencks, Christopher, 2004. "The Spread of Single-Parent Families in the United States since 1960," Working Paper Series rwp04-008, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. [Downloadable!]
  22. James J. Heckman & Paul LaFontaine, 2006. "Bias Corrected Estimates of GED Returns," NBER Working Papers 12018, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Alan B. Krueger, 2003. "Economic Considerations and Class Size," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(485), pages F34-F63, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Heckman, James J. & Lalonde, Robert J. & Smith, Jeffrey A., 1999. "The economics and econometrics of active labor market programs," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1865-2097 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Dale Jorgenson & Mun Ho & Kevin Stiroh, 2003. "Growth of US Industries and Investments in Information Technology and Higher Education," Economic Systems Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 279-325, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  26. Donald Kenkel & Dean Lillard & Alan Mathios, 2006. "The Roles of High School Completion and GED Receipt in Smoking and Obesity," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 635-660, July. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jane Waldfogel, 2004. "Social Mobility, Life Chances, and the Early Years," CASE Papers 088, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  2. Pierre Lefebvre & Philip Merrigan, 2008. "Family Background, Family Income, Cognitive Tests Scores, Behavioural Scales and their Relationship with Post-secondary Education Participation: Evidence from the NLSCY," Cahiers de recherche 0830, CIRPEE. [Downloadable!]
  3. Kramarz, Francis & Machin, Stephen & Ouazad, Amine, 2008. "What Makes a Test Score? The Respective Contributions of Pupils, Schools, and Peers in Achievement in English Primary Education," IZA Discussion Papers 3866, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  4. Billari, Francesco C. & Pellizzari, Michele, 2008. "The Younger, the Better? Relative Age Effects at University," IZA Discussion Papers 3795, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  5. David Deming & Susan Dynarski, 2008. "The lengthening of childhood," New England Public Policy Center Working Paper 08-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Andersson, Christian & Johansson, Per, 2009. "Social stratification and out-of-school learning," Working Paper Series 2009:17, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
  7. Orazem, Peter & Glewwe, Paul & Patrinos, Harry, 2007. "The Benefits and Costs of Alternative Strategies to Improve Educational Outcomes," Staff General Research Papers 12853, Iowa State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Suncica Vujic & Pierre Koning & Dinand Webbink & Nick Martin, 2008. "The effect of childhood conduct disorder on human capital," CPB Discussion Papers 113, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. [Downloadable!]
  9. Nabanita Datta Gupta & Marianne Simonsen, 2007. "Non-Cognitive Child Outcomes and Universal High Quality Child Care," IZA Discussion Papers 3188, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  10. Rainald Borck & Katharina Wrohlich, 2008. "Preferences for Childcare Policies: Theory and Evidence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 827, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2009. "The Economics and Psychology of Inequality and Human Development," NBER Working Papers 14695, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Geraint Johnes, 2008. "Early Years Education And Subsequent Schooling In Rural India: An Economic Analysis," Working Papers 005763, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
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