A Human Development Framework to maximise returns of early life investments in Low-and-Middle Income Countries

Abstract Potential high returns to early life investments are a key rationale for investing early, summarised by The Heckman Curve. Yet, we suggest that the high returns to early interventions and declining returns to later life interventions are not automatic in low-and middle-income countries. We present a Human Development Framework which extends the Heckman Curve's underlying model by incorporating the role of context and, with reference to Martha Nussbaum's work, shifts from skills formation to capability formation. The framework illustrates how early investments are critical but insufficient in adverse contexts where later-life investments and contextual improvements are often necessary to achieve high returns and promote equity. We argue for balancing investments across the life course to ensure human development. We describe the framework qualitatively and with a mathematical model. We illustrate the application of the framework through three scenarios and discuss implications for critical policy debates.