TY  - JOUR
AU  - Cunha,Flavio
AU  - Heckman,James J.
TI  - Investing in Our Young People
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16201
PY  - 2010
Y2  - July 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16201
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16201.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Flavio Cunha
Department of Economics
University of Pennsylvania
160 McNeil Building
3718 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6297
Tel: 215/898-5652
E-Mail: fcunha@sas.upenn.edu

James J. Heckman
Department of Economics
The University of Chicago
1126 E. 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/702-0634
Fax: 773/702-8490
E-Mail: jjh@uchicago.edu
AB  - This paper reviews the recent literature on the production of skills of young persons. The literature features the multiplicity of skills that explain success in a variety of life outcomes. Noncognitive skills play a fundamental role in successful lives. The dynamics of skill formation reveal the interplay of cognitive and noncognitive skills, and the presence of critical and sensitive periods in the life-cycle. We discuss the optimal timing of investment over the life-cycle.
ER  -