During his State of the Union address on February 12, 2013, US President Barack Obama referred to University of Chicago Professor James Heckman’s research and his finding of a 7–10% return on investment per annum for certain early childhood education programs. These rates of return are higher than those for equity in the stock market between 1945 and 2008. In 2013, the US Congress introduced a bill to expand access to high-quality, full-day preschool for 4-year-olds from low- to moderate-income families. Professor Heckman pointed out that early childhood educational policies such as this bill are socially fair and economically efficient. There is no trade-off between equity and efficiency. Early investment in the lives of disadvantaged children will help reduce inequality, in both the short and the long run, and promote prosperity.
