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We compare the effects of early childhood education on adult criminal behavior
across time periods, using administrative crime data that provide significant precision
advantages over existing work. We find that improvements in early childhood education
led to large (20%) reductions in later criminal behavior, reductions that far exceed those
implied by estimates of test score gains in prior studies. While the benefits generated
account for a large portion of the costs of the education provided, we find substantial
relative gains from the targeting of funds to high poverty areas and to areas without
existing access to subsidized care.