Gaps in both cognitive and non-cognitive skills between the advantaged and the disadvantaged emerge early and can be traced in part to adverse environments. Further, a growing proportion of children are now raised in underresourced families. Studies show that a proper measure of child adversity is the quality of parenting do not capture the full environment of the child. Traditional measures of family income or parental education, although correlated with the quality of parenting. While addressing the latter would improve the observed gaps, addressing parenting quality directly would show a much larger improvement.
The accident of birth is a principal source of inequality in America today. American society is dividing into skilled and unskilled, and research suggests that the roots of this division lie in early childhood experiences. Kids born into disadvantaged environments are at much greater risk of being unskilled, having low lifetime earnings, and facing a range of personal and social troubles, including poor health, teen pregnancy, and crime. While we celebrate equality of opportunity, we live in a society in which birth is becoming fate. Predistribution–improving the early lives of disadvantaged children–is far more effective than simple redistribution in promoting social inclusion and, at the same time, at promoting economic efficiency and workforce productivity.