North American Ed - Developmental health

2.2 The socio-economic impact of early childhood education and care

Investing in young children through ECD programs is one of the smartest investments a country can make to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve outcomes later in life” (World Bank Group, 2016, para. 1).

The Early Years Study 4 (McCain, 2020) provides compelling data showing the important role early childhood education can have in children’s lives.  Chapter 3 – “A step up for all: ECE helps kids, families and communities thrive” – makes a strong case.

Economic evidence makes a powerful argument for investing in early childhood development. Understanding this evidence and being able to voice the arguments can really strengthen funding requests, which must compete against other priorities.

In the next video, Craig Alexander, former vice-president of economic analysis for the C.D. Howe Institute, discusses some of the research that points to early childhood education as an important investment for children, parents, the economy and society.

In 2017, Alexander co-authored the report Ready for life: A socio-economic analysis of early childhood education and care for the Conference Board of Canada. The report documents the role of early education in reducing inter-generational poverty by improving the future income prospects for children while lifting the labour participation of their mothers. The report recommends governments provide a minimum of two years of universal preschool education while improving program quality. Read the Executive Summary of the report (pp. i – v).

The Ready for life report provides a wealth of information on how Canada compares internationally, a detailed cost-benefit analysis and more data that will help you to both understand and articulate the benefits of investing in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from a Canadian perspective. Read the full report to explore this information.

Returns on investments in early child development

Dr. James Heckman, a Nobel prize-winner in economics, and his colleague Flavio Cunha show that investments in early childhood programs are justified by the returns provided to society as a whole. They demonstrate that early childhood provides an unequaled period for the development of human capital. Each stage of life underpins the next. Investment in the foundation stage of early childhood provides a higher rate of return on investment (ROI) than investments later in life.

You will have learned about the Abecedarian Approach in the Ecology of Childhood as well as the Communicating and Learning modules. The following article summarizes the long term economic and social benefits to recipients of early childhood interventions in the 1970’s, including the Abecedarian program, and shows that if you look at data over time, the rate of return is even higher than previously thought.

In the next clip, Dr. Maureen Black, at the University of Maryland, discusses some of the long-term social and health impacts of the Abecedarian program on the children who participated.

Heckman and his team also looked at gender differences in the longterm interventions.

Dr. Mildred Warner is an economist at Cornell University who studies the economics of child care. Here she discusses the economic rationale for investing in early child development and the benefits for children, families and the business community.

In the next clips, Warner explains how traditional economic thinking needs to change to understand long-term, high yield investments in early childhood education and related programs for young children and their families. She challenges nations to re-interpret expenditures in early child development as investments.

Most arguments for public investment in early child development, particularly for investments in programs for disadvantaged children, are based on American studies, which have used economic modelling or projections into the future or on small-scale, experimental longitudinal studies.

Now we have Canadian economic studies, including the actual cost-benefits demonstrated in Quebec.

Investing in ECD in low and middle-income countries

On a global level, the arguments for investing in early child development have become strong, empowered by evidence from research such as the Lancet series on early child development in developing countries and recent policy documents such as The Nurturing Care Framework (WHO and UNICEF).  Economists and others who study global issues sometimes categorize countries based on the gross national income (GNI) per person. For example, “the World Bank divides the world’s economies into four income groups:  high, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low” (The World Bank, 2019). Particular attention is often paid to the lower income regions.

The burden and cost of inaction is high. A staggering 43 percent of children under five years of age—an estimated 250 million—living in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of suboptimal development due to poverty and stunting. The burden is currently underestimated because risks to health and wellbeing go beyond these two factors. A poor start in life can lead to poor health, nutrition, and inadequate learning, resulting in low adult earnings as well as social tensions. Negative consequences impact not only present but also future generations. Because of this poor start, affected individuals are estimated to suffer a loss of about a quarter of average adult income per year while countries may forfeit up to twice their current GDP expenditures on health and education” (Advancing Early Childhood Development, 2016, p.2).

In the next video, listen as Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, at the University of Toronto and Aga Khan University, stresses that investing in health and education goes beyond individual nations to a global responsibility.