Biography

James J. Heckman is the Henry Shultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Public Policy and Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago. He works to understand the origins of inequality, social mobility, and the formation of skills and regulation in labor markets. He also devises and applies empirical strategies to address these questions. Heckman has published over 300 articles and 9 books. Heckman has received the Nobel Prize in Economics, the John Bates Clark Medal, the Jacob Mincer Award, the Dennis Aigner Award, the Ulysses Medal, the Theodore W. Schultz Award, the Frisch Medal, the Dan David Prize, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association.

Website: https://cehd.uchicago.edu/

2-056 - Perry Preschoolers at Late Midlife

Session Type: Invited Address

Integrative Statement

This paper presents new evidence on the lifetime effectiveness of the iconic Perry Preschool (HighScope) program. Evidence from a new survey of participants in their mid-50s is presented. For the first time, longitudinal life-cycle analyses of earnings, employment, and crime are conducted. Results from comprehensive epidemiological exams of health and mental health are reported. In addition, for the first time evidence on the life outcomes of the children of Perry participants is presented, as well as evidence on the life outcomes of the siblings of participants.

Sub Unit

• Invited Program

Chair

• Rachel C. Katz, SRCD Post-doctoral State Policy Fellow, Division of Early Intervention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Tufts University

Speaker

• James J. Heckman, University of Chicago