Early Childhood Education and Life-cycle Health
This paper forecasts the life-cycle treatment effects on health of a high-quality early childhood program. Our predictions combine microsimulation using non-experimental data with experimental data from a midlife long-term follow-up. The follow-up incorporated a full epidemiological exam. The program mainly benefits males and significantly reduces the prevalence of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and mortality across the life-cycle. For men, we estimate an average reduction of 3.8 disability-adjusted years (DALYs). The reduction in DALYs is relatively small for women. The gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) is almost enough to offset all of the costs associated with program implementation for males and half of program costs for women.
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Copy CitationJorge Luis García and James J. Heckman, "Early Childhood Education and Life-cycle Health," NBER Working Paper 26880 (2020), https://doi.org/10.3386/w26880.
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Published Versions
Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman, 2021. "Early childhood education and life‐cycle health," Health Economics, vol 30(S1), pages 119-141. citation courtesy of 
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