Excerpts from a paper developed by Art Rolnick & Rob Grunewald

ART ROLNICK is a major contributor to the Public Early Childhood Education sector (U.S.A.) which focuses on programs for children between the ages of 3 and 5 in a variety of public and private sectors spanning pre-school, kindergarten-primary grade education and special education.     Mr. Rolnick’s focus is on the pre-school segment and he is an economic advocate for the universal pre-school movement (Laureate Education, Inc.).

Ironically, Arthur Rolnick is senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and he admits that doing research on the economics of early childhood education is not his real job (Children of the Code [CC], 2011).

Mr. Rolnick is an advocate of the fact that economic research strongly suggests that a key ingredient to economic growth is investment in human capital. In particular, where there is high-quality, parent focused Early Childhood Development programs that commence at birth; it is proven that these programs can make an extraordinary difference in the outcomes for both the child and society.

Here are two excerpts from a paper developed in March 2003 by Art Rolnick and Rob Grunewald entitled "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return": 

"The economic case for public funding of early childhood development

Knowing that we need a highly educated workforce, however, does not tell us where to invest limited public resources. Policymakers must identify the educational investments that yield the highest public returns. Here the literature is
clear: Dollars invested in Early Childhood Development (ECD) yield extraordinary public returns.

The quality of life for a child and the contributions the child makes to society as an adult can be traced back to the first few years of life.  From birth until about 5 years old a child undergoes tremendous growth and change. If this period of life includes support for growth in cognition, language, motor skills, adaptive skills and social-emotional functioning, the child is more likely to succeed in school and later contribute to society. However, without support during these early years, a child is more likely to drop out of school, receive welfare benefits and commit crime.

A well-managed and well-funded early childhood development program, or ECDP, provides such support. Current ECDPs include home visits as well as center-based programs to supplement and enhance the ability of parents to provide a solid foundation for their children."

"Conclusion

The conventional view of economic development typically includes company headquarters, office towers, entertainment centers, and professional sports stadiums and arenas. In this paper, we have argued that in the future any proposed economic development list should have early childhood development at the top.

The return on investment from early childhood development is extraordinary, resulting in better working public schools, more educated workers and less crime."