Ep. 43: The long-run benefits of public preschool

Head Start was launched nearly sixty years ago as part of the United States’ War on Poverty. Since then, it has helped prepare millions of kids for first grade. The architects of the program hoped that putting disadvantaged children on more equal footing with their better-off peers would set them up for future success. But the long-run impacts are only now becoming clear. In a paper in the American Economic Review, authors Martha J. Bailey, Shuqiao Sun, and Brenden Timpe found that Head Start significantly boosted educational attainment and economic self-sufficiency later in life. The returns were so great that the program more than paid for itself. Bailey says their findings offer important insights into evaluating large-scale social programs, especially those that invest in people while they are young. She recently spoke with Tyler Smith about the long-term effects of Head Start and its lessons for early childhood intervention programs.