• Investing in children is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do because it addresses both rights and economic prospects.
  
• Early Childhood Development (ECD) should be a priority component of an economic growth strategy.
• It is important to look at the contributions of ECD programs towards poverty reduction with an eye for both equity and efficiency.

The relative lack of attention to early childhood development in many developing countries remains a puzzle—and an opportunity. There is increasing evidence that investments in the nutritional, cognitive, and socioemotional development of young children have high payoffs. This volume thoroughly and carefully reviews the most recent empirical literature linking early childhood development outcomes, poverty, and shocks. It goes beyond simply documenting the consequences of insufficient or inadequate focus on early childhood and identifies the range of policy options available to policy makers.