Assessment of the Cost–Benefit Literature on Early Childhood Education for Vulnerable Children: What the Findings Mean for Policy

Abstract

Given international interest in evidence-informed early education policy, we sought to interpret what is often a confusing literature on the performance of early childhood education programs. We explore whether they represent a good return on investment and the factors affecting their transferability. A systematic review was conducted to identify all cost–benefit (C-B) studies of center-based programs enrolling disadvantaged children prior to age 5 compared with a matched group. From a search across all pertinent databases in 2013, 13 economic evaluations relating to six distinct programs were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Of the six programs, half were reported as producing a ..