Quality early childhood development can close the income gap, reduce health disparities, and save taxpayers a bundle in lower health and social costs. It saves lives, and it saves money.

James J. Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. In 2000, he shared the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel with Daniel McFadden. Heckman directs the Economics Research Center and the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School for Public Policy, and is professor of law at the University of Chicago School of Law.