The Benefits and Costs of Head Start

44 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2007 Last revised: 14 Dec 2022

See all articles by Jens Ludwig

Jens Ludwig

Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Deborah Phillips

Georgetown University - Department of Psychology

Date Written: March 2007

Abstract

In this essay we review what is known about Head Start and argue that the program is likely to generate benefits to participants and society as a whole that are large enough to justify the program's costs. Our conclusions differ importantly from those offered in some previous reviews because we use a more appropriate standard to judge the success of Head Start (namely, benefit-cost analysis), draw on new accumulating evidence for Head Start's long-term effects on early cohorts of program participants, and discuss why common interpretations of a recent randomized experimental evaluation of Head Start's short-term impacts may be overly pessimistic. While in principle there could be more beneficial ways of deploying Head Start resources, the benefits of such changes remain uncertain and there is some downside risk.

Suggested Citation

Ludwig, Jens and Phillips, Deborah, The Benefits and Costs of Head Start (March 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w12973, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=971608

Jens Ludwig (Contact Author)

Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI) ( email )

3600 N Street, NW Suite 200
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United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Deborah Phillips

Georgetown University - Department of Psychology ( email )

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Washington, DC 20057-1409
United States

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