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Ross and Wu (1995) found that, in general, well educated people have more rewarding
jobs giving them more of a sense of self worth and a more fulfilling and enjoyable work life. In
addition, it was found that more educated people have a better sense of control on their lives and
understand that many outcomes in their life depend on their actions. This in turn may influence
people to quit or not smoke, exercise and take preventative measures, such as routine check-ups,
which may explain why well educated people report much better health.
The effect that education has on a conscious decision to lead a healthy lifestyle are
illustrated by Ross and Wu through the examples of smoking, exercise, drinking and check-ups.
It is shown that well educated people are more likely to have never smoked or to have quit. As
smoking and the externalities associated with second hand smoke have been proven to be
harmful, a decline in the smoking population will have many social benefits. Drinking has also
been shown to be affected by education; persons with above average levels of education are
reported to drink more moderately than persons with below average education (Ross and Wu,
1995:724). There is also a positive correlation between physical activity and education. Exercise
is an important component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and well educated people are more
likely to engage in exercise on a regular basis. The last factor looked at was medical check-ups.
They are important as people who had annual physicals were more likely to detect early signs of
illness and receive immunizations.
v. Impact of Early Education Programs
There is a large literature that argues that the most effective way to help children of
disadvantaged background achieve higher educational attainment is through investment into the
early years of learning (Heckman and Masterov (2007), Lynch (2007), McCain and Mustard
(1999)). Providing a solid foundation in the early years upon which students can build is a much
better strategy than investing later in their education because the capacity of children to change
their human skills‘ development path is highest at a young age. That is not to say that investing
in high school, for example, is not important. It is simply that the returns from investment at a
young age are higher than solely investing later in life, such as on job training or GED programs.
Heckman and Masterov (2007) present a very persuasive case for the benefits of
investing in young children. Presenting evidence on disadvantaged youth in the United States the
study asserts that investments in the education of the young outweigh the costs due to the
overwhelming future productivity gains. They argue that investments in education for
disadvantaged youth will be beneficial to all, as it will benefit them, their children and society as
a whole. The benefits will be manifested not only through higher wages, but also through fewer
out-of-wedlock births and less crime. Investments in education, properly directed, can make
society more socially functional, affluent and safer. Heckman and Masterov also note that
education investments are a rare public policy choice with no equity-efficiency trade off. In fact,
they point out that the estimated rate of return on one of the best documented early intervention
program is in the range of 16 per cent; 4 per cent goes to the participant and 12 per cent is felt by
society at large.
In Canada, the McCain and Mustard (1999) report in Ontario also convincingly make the
case for early child programs. After reviewing the neuroscience evidence on early child