This memo estimates the main economic benefits of tuition-free college in Illinois. These economic benefits are compared with the costs of making tuition free. In addition, the authors consider possible fiscal benefits of tuition-free college and whether these fiscal benefits for Illinois will offset the fiscal costs of making tuition free. This…

This paper presents new benefit-cost estimates for the Tulsa universal preschool program. These calculations are based on estimated effects from previous papers of Tulsa pre-K on high school graduation rates and college attendance rates of students who were enrolled in kindergarten in Tulsa Public Schools in the fall of 2006. In this paper,…

Substantial research shows that high-quality early childhood education programs have a large economic payoff. This payoff is increased earnings for former child participants, increased earnings for parents, and increased earnings for all workers when average worker skills improve. A program package of universal pre-K, combined with child care and…

This paper estimates future adult earnings effects associated with a universal pre-K program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These informed projections help to compensate for the lack of long-term data on universal pre-K programs, while using metrics that relate test scores to valued social benefits. Combining test-score data from the fall of 2006 and recent…

This paper examines the effects of preschool expansion in Kalamazoo County on the county's economic development. Effects on the county's economic development are defined as effects on the employment and earnings of county residents. The estimated effects are found to be large relative to the costs. In addition to their relevance to Kalamazoo…

This chapter is a draft of Chapter 7 of a planned book, "Preschool and Jobs: Human Development as Economic Development, and Vice Versa." This book analyzes early childhood programs' effects on regional economic development. Four early childhood programs are considered: (1) universally accessible preschool for four-year-olds of similar…