Investing in the Future: Reducing Poverty through Human Capital Investments

Abstract

Explores human capital investment across the life course as a means of poverty reduction. Intervention strategies targeting at-risk preschool children are considered, focusing on the effectiveness of early interventions, eg, Head Start, & a cost-benefit analysis of such programs. Investments for school-age children & adolescents include those geared toward school quality & access, dropout prevention, & school-to-work transition programs (eg, JOBSTART & the Job Training Partnership Act). Discussion of increasing the human capital of disadvantaged adults centers on job training & welfare reform, providing evidence that adult education & welfare-to-work programs are not entirely effective. A cost-benefit analysis of adult human capital investment programs is also briefly described. Policy issues pertinent to human capital investment include program targeting, design, & scale & determining an optimal investment strategy. Reasons for pursuing such strategies are provided: (1) Not all at-risk children will be identified. (2) Ongoing intervention might be required for the most disadvantaged. (3) A continuum of human capital investment opportunities might have a greater cumulative impact than any one investment at any one time. Five chronological approaches are cited as having the most merit. 7 Tables. J. Zendejas