Can pre-school save the US economy? Economist Timothy Bartik thinks it just might be possible.
From his TEDxMiamiUniversity talk:
I want to present a different idea for why investing in early childhood education makes sense as a public investment.
It’s a different idea because, usually, when people talk about early childhood programs, they talk about all the wonderful benefits for participants … better K-12 test skills, better adult earnings. And that’s all very important — but what I want to talk about is what preschool does for state economies, and for promoting state economic development. And that’s absolutely crucial, because if we’re going to get that increased investment in early childhood programs, we need to interest state governments in this.
If you look at the research evidence — that’s extensive — on how much early childhood programs affect the educational attainment, wages, and skills of former participants in pre-school as adults, and you take those known effects — you take how many of those folks will be expected to stick around the state’s local economy and not move out — and you take research on how much skills drive job creation, you will conclude from these three separate lines of research, that for every dollar invested in early childhood programs, the per capita earnings of state residents go up by $2.78. That’s a 3 to 1 return.
Now you can get much higher returns — of up to 16 to 1 — if you include anti-crime benefits; if you include benefits to former preschool participants that moved to some other state; but there’s a good reason for focusing on these $3 because this is salient and important to state legislators and state policymakers. And it’s the states who are going to have to act.
For more of Bartik’s insights on early childhood education and economics in the US, watch his whole talk here »
7 TEDx Talks by guys with excellent beards
“Strider” at TEDxDarwin
Beards have a patchy history. King Henry VIII started taxing beards in 1535. Peter the Great of Russia declared his own war on fuzz 200 years later. Massachusetts law once required men to pay for a license just to rock a goatee and, on the other side of the razor, it was once illegal not to grow a beard in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Thankfully, the war on fuzzy faces might just have finally stalled. Help us celebrate great whiskers by watching these 7 talks from speakers with facial hair so impressive you might just want to grow your own (imaginary or not).
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Reduced Misery: Paul Krugman at TEDxColumbiaSIPA
At TEDxColumbiaSIPA, Paul Krugman expands on happiness economics and what economics can do to make you less miserable, citing work from Sigmund Freud and Ben Bernake, two fellow beard-wearers.
TEDx Intern Picks: 5 favorites for February
TEDx’ers contribute to the TEDx blackboard at TEDActive (Photo: Marla Aufmuth)
It’s that time again — time for another TEDx intern playlist. Today, one of our screening interns provides a glimpse into the vast variety of ideas circling the TEDx community — ideas that confront, surprise, and astound — even when you watch dozens of talks daily.
Comedy, economics, and carbon taxes: Yoram Bauman at TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege
As an economics major, I understand that talking about the economy can be a little dry. Okay, VERY dry. So I was thrilled to find a talk in the TEDx library that was not only econ-related, but entertaining! Economics Ph.D Yoram Bauman takes us through some of the basic principles that economists use to show how a revenue-neutral carbon tax would benefit Americans by reducing or eliminating payroll taxes.
Learn 100 songs in five minutes: Jordan Hume at TEDxMacquarieUniversity
By now, a lot of people are familiar with the fact that many of our favorite songs from rock, pop, folk, and country share essentially the same chord structure.Jordan Hume took this phenomenon a little deeper by giving the audience at TEDxMacquarieUniversity a crash course in piano and music theory.
Building highways in the sky: Steve Fulton at TEDxCincy
In this talk, Steve Fulton explains the problems with our current disjointed and messy air traffic systems, and shows great real world examples of how airports are using computers to streamline flight paths in and out of travel hubs. As a lover of air travel, I thought that this talk was something we all should watch.
Classical architecture in modern times: G.S. Smith & F. Terry at TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
Sometimes I can’t help but cringe when I see a flashy new building go up in an otherwise traditionally-designed neighborhood. In this talk, G.S. Smith and F. Terry alleviate my fears by showing their old-world designs for brand new buildings — to bring a touch of classical style into our ever-changing cities.
Being silly: Sam Simmons at TEDxSydney
THIS PLAYLIST HAS GOTTEN TOO SERIOUS! If you need a quick dose of irreverence, check out the absolutely hysterical performance by Sam Simmons at TEDxSydney, before it’s too late! Bananas.
