Description:Early childhood development
(ECS) is examined through the first decade of life from an economic perspective. Course focuses on the role of government policies in helping to promote ECD for purposes of social welfare and economic growth. Readings focus on education and health policies or programs that affect child outcomes from the prenatal period to third grade. Students will become familiar with the importance of rigorous impact evaluations and the use of cost-benefit analysis as a tool for efficient resource allocation to promote child wellbeing.
Examples of topics included in the first decade of life:
Cost-effectiveness of nurse home visiting programs and doulas
Long-term consequences of being in utero during a pandemic - evidence from 1918
Universal versus targeted preschool programs - short and long-term effects
Academic red-shirting in kindergarten
Elementary school topics including teachers, charter schools, and small class sizes
Required readings:
Reynolds, Rolnick, Englund and Temple, eds. (2010) Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life: A Human Capital Integration. Cambridge University Press.
Additional assigned and optional articles and reports on topics of recent interest.