How to Use Professor Heckman’s Work View Summary

This is a two-page message framework advocates can use to motivate policymakers and other influentials to invest in quality early childhood education for disadvantaged children. This resource can be used as a guide for crafting persuasive talking points to business leaders, policymakers or other potential advocates. The Message: Nobel Memorial Prize Laureate Professor James Heckman…

The Case for Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children View Academic Paper

In this 10-page excerpt from “Big Ideas for Children: Investing in Our Nation’s Future,” Professor Heckman discusses his early findings on the need for early childhood education and the economic benefits of providing it. Written while Heckman and his team were still analyzing the economic returns from the Perry Preschool project, it provides the foundation…

Schools, Skills, Synapses View Academic Paper

This is Professor Heckman’s well-known analysis of the Perry Preschool program, its economic benefits and the value of investing in quality early childhood development. The study finds that every dollar invested in quality early childhood education for disadvantaged children provides a return of 7-10% per child, per annum. This paper discusses (a) the role of…