What is Known About the Long-term Economic Impact of Centre-based Early Childhood Interventions

There is a substantial literature about cost-benefi t studies of social welfare interventions. It is widely assumed, and widely quoted by politicians and policymakers, that early childhood interventions in particular are effective and bring returns in the order of seven dollars saved for every one dollar spent. These savings do not appear to be apparent until the children who received the intervention reach adulthood. We wished to scrutinise this evidence in detail.