The Economic Effects of Early Childhood Education on Parents and Children

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The median annual cost of full-day, center-based preschool in the U.S. ranged from $7,155 to $15,600 in 2022 (National Database of Childcare Prices, 2024)—a significant burden considering the median individual income is about $49,860 (Census Bureau, 2024). The high cost of care can limit low- and moderate-income parents’ workforce participation and restrict children’s access to developmentally enriching environments.

Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs, which subsidize preschool for young children, represent a two-generation policy approach aimed at supporting both early skill development in children and labor force participation among parents. Parental employment and children’s long-term labor market outcomes are central channels through which ECE investments generate both short- and long-term societal returns.

While prior studies have examined the employment effects of programs like Head Start (Schiman, 2022; Wikle & Wilson, 2022) and state pre-kindergarten (pre-K) (Cascio & Schanzenbach, 2013; Fitzpatrick, 2010; Humphries et al., 2024; Li, 2020), several critical questions remain: How do extended program hours (from part-day to full-day) affect parental employment? What are the impacts of expanding eligibility to younger children (e.g., 3-year-olds)? Do ECE programs improve family income and reduce material hardship? Do effects on parental employment persist over time? Can universal ECE programs influence residential decisions and attract families with young children?

In addition, while model programs like Perry Preschool and Abecedarian, along with Head Start, have shown links to long-term adult outcomes (Bailey et al., 2021; Deming, 2009; Garces et al., 2002; García et al., 2020), the long-term evidence for state pre-K programs is more limited, with recent studies focusing on two local universal programs (Gray-Lobe et al., 2023; Gormley et al., 2023). More research is needed to assess the long-run impacts of pre-K and the mechanisms through which they occur.

This panel brings together four papers addressing these gaps in evidence. The first paper, by Esra Kose, evaluates the impact of extended Head Start hours on maternal labor force participation using recent changes in the funding eligibility rule. The second paper, by Eunho Cha, examines the short- and extended-term effects of New York City’s universal 3-K program on maternal employment, family income, and material hardship, leveraging its staggered rollout. The third paper, by Taryn Morrissey, analyzes how the implementation of universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds in Washington, DC, affects maternal labor supply and the population share of families with young children. The last paper, by Jiee Zhong, presents new evidence on the short- and long-term effects of Texas’s pre-K program on academic achievement in middle childhood and adult educational attainment and earnings, using administrative data and a 1985 policy change.

Together, these papers inform the design of ECE programs to support both child development and parental economic security. Two discussants from the academic and policy sectors will offer reflections and discuss future collaborative research directions.

Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Poverty and Income Policy

Chair

• Anamarie A Whitaker, University of Delaware

Discussants

• Alejandra Ros Pilarz, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Kimberly Brynn Burgess Simms, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Organizer

• Eunho Cha, University of California, Irvine

Individual Presentations

• Preschool as Child Care: Head Start Duration Expansions and Maternal Employment - Presenting Author: Esra Kose, University of California, Merced

• The Effects of Universal Pre-K for Three-year-old Children on Mothers’ Employment and Families’ Economic Well-being - Presenting Author: Eunho Cha, University of California, Irvine

• The Effects of Universal Preschool in the District of Columbia on Maternal Employment - Presenting Author: Taryn W. Morrissey, American University

• The Effect of Access to Free Pre-Kindergarten on Educational Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes - Presenting Author: Jiee Zhong, Miami University