In the second part of this two-part discussion, Katharine Stevens continues her conversation with economists James Heckman and Jorge Luis Garcia about their pioneering research on how improving parenting is the essential mechanism of effective early childhood programs, and their new paper, "Parenting Promotes Social Mobility Within and Across Generations."
They discuss why policies aiming to support young children's development must focus on families, the importance of considering incentives in making policy, how we need to broaden the concept of "investment" in early childhood beyond public spending, and the promise of home visiting as the lowest-cost, most scalable approach to supporting young children's development.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Parenting is the crucial driver of healthy early development.
- Public spending should be targeted at the socially and economically disadvantaged families who need help the most.
- Early childhood policy should focus on evidence-based approaches that improve parent-child interactions and support families in providing a loving, nurturing environment for their young children.
- Research should aim to understand the mechanisms of effective programs and emphasize replicability of evidence.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
James Heckman is a Nobel-prize winning economist, a longtime professor at the University of Chicago, and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development. He has devoted his professional life to understanding the origins of major social and economic problems as well as the economics of human flourishing. Learn more about Professor Heckman's work at bit.ly/3YToVs0.
Jorge Luis Garcia is a professor of applied micro-economics at Clemson University. His research focuses on the intersection of labor and development economics, aiming to design and evaluate social policies that help develop the economic conditions of countries and people. Learn more about Professor Garcia's work at bit.ly/44ruLlD.
RELATED WORK
- Read their new paper: "Parenting Promotes Social Mobility Within and Across Generations" at https://www.nber.org/papers/w30610.
- Listen to Part 1 of the conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2148289/episodes/13389213#.
------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Subscribe to Early Matters:
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3EgluC8
- Apple: https://apple.co/3qIp7Ol
- iHeart: https://ihr.fm/44oFE7R
Follow Us on Social Media:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_CCFP and https://twitter.com/kbstevens
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-on-child-and-family-policy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centeronchildandfamilypolicy
See the Center on Child and Family Policy's Work: www.ccfp.org
Sign Up for Updates: https://www.ccfp.org/sign-up-for-ccfp-updates
Email the Show: EarlyMatters@ccfp.org.
------------------------------------
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Kingdom of Fraud
It’s the unlikeliest of criminal partnerships: a devout polygamist from an insular Utah sect joining forces with a shadowy Armenian tycoon from LA. The result - a billion dollar fraud conspiracy. In Kingdom of Fraud, investigative reporter Michele McPhee traces the origins of the extraordinary alliance between Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan. Together, the two men trigger the largest tax investigation in American history and weave around themselves a web of dirty cops, influential political relationships and transnational money laundering. All this is set against the backdrop of Jacob Kingston’s clan – The Order. A powerful and secretive polygamist organization in Salt Lake City. To whom Jacob is desperate to prove his worth. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of Kingdom of Fraud completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!