Investing in ECE is a strategy for fostering child development that sets children on a path for a more equitable future. The formative years of early childhood are uniquely influential, with rapid brain growth shaping cognitive, physical, social, and emotional capacities crucial for lifelong success. Quality ECE can nurture the development of these skills, not only enhancing school readiness but also lowering the risk of school dropout, and educational disparities between children from different backgrounds. Such investments yield significantly higher returns compared to compensatory measures in later stages of life, making ECE a strategic and economically sound investment. Therefore, many countries are looking at expanding early childhood education to greater proportions of their populations.

Assessing the distributional impact and expenses associated with different financing and institutional arrangement models can support policy-makers to find the best fit for their context. This analysis enables governments to gauge the financial implications of scaling up existing programs or launching new ones, while also facilitating comparisons of costs and benefits. Such evaluations are essential for understanding the affordability and sustainability of expansion, identifying key cost components, and contrasting different expansion scenarios in terms of their effects on children and associated expenses. 

Crucially, this process should highlight disparities in access, particularly where disadvantaged children are excluded due to fees or additional service costs borne by households. Recognizing these inequalities is imperative for ensuring equitable access to ECE services. 
 

Development Analytics has led numerous ECE-related research projects, collaborating with organizations like the World Bank, UNICEF, and others. Our studies, including simulation models, estimate the impact and costs of ECE expansion policies. These models, presented through interactive tools, empower stakeholders to compare scenarios and make evidence-based decisions, fostering inclusive development.

A number of these projects focused on broadening ECE services, for which we developed simulation models to estimate the potential impact and costs of different ECE expansion policies aiming to enhance supply of and/or demand for ECE services. These simulation models allowed stakeholders and policymakers to compare and contrast between different scenarios such as ECE capacity expansion through diverse models, and the provision of subsidies to ECE providers and enable decision making using an evidence-based approach. The models are presented through interactive and flexible tools, allowing for adjustments to certain policy decisions.