Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: This study provides a cost-benefit analysis of expanding access to universal preschool education, focusing on a Spanish reform that lowered the age of eligibility for publicly provided universal preschool from age 4 to age 3. Benefits in terms of child development and maternal employment are estimated using evidence on the causal effects of this reform. In the baseline estimation the benefit-cost ratio is over 4, indicating sizeable net societal benefits of the preschool investment. The results show that the child development effects are the major determinant of the cost-benefit ratio; the employment gains for parents appear to play a relatively minor role. Overall, the cost-benefit analysis provides support for investing in high-quality preschool education.
Source: Child Development
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12993
Institution: Utrecht University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2770676909