Building on CED's domestic success with early childhood education programs, we are partnering with the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings to bring the importance of early child development to the forefront of international economic debates. We believe that business leaders who publicly support early child development have an opportunity to be key stakeholders for economic growth in emerging markets. This project seeks to build a business constituency for reform that can support developing countries in growing early child development programs toward a healthy citizenry and vibrant economy.

The project’s first event took place in The Hague, The Netherlands and was attended by European business leaders, international early child development experts, and special guests including Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands and Her Royal Highness, Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands.

On April 17, 2008, The Committee for Economic Development, in partnership with early childhood leadership teams from Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, hosted an event on the importance of investing in early childhood development. Chairman, President & CEO of Great Plains Energy Services and CED Trustee Michael Chesser (pictured) welcomed the audience of education and business leaders from the Kansas City area.

In her keynote remarks, Governor Kathleen Sebelius (pictured) outlined her proposal to increase funding for early education, and asked the audience to contact their state legislators to urge their support for the proposal. If America is to compete in the international marketplace, said Sebelius, it cannot afford to leave 20% of its workforce insufficiently educated. After the governor’s remarks, Flavio Cunha, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania presented his research on the economic impact of investing in early childhood education. Judith Carta, Principle Investigator & Sr. Scientist, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project discussed the cognitive benefits of investing in early childhood development.

Local businessman Robert D. Regnier, President, Bank of Blue Valley, delivered closing remarks, in which he appealed to all business leaders to take an active role in advocating increased awareness of, and funding for, early childhood education.

Additional materials
» Audio Recording of keynote remarks and panel discussion
» Judith Carta’s Powerpoint presentation
» Flavio Cunha’s Powerpoint presentation

The U.S. employer-based health care system is failing. Health care costs are rising faster than wages, quality of care is low, and access to coverage is deteriorating. CED recently released two distinct but complementary reports that address the current health care crisis. Both reports offer recommendations for improved outcomes in cost and quality of treatment, one focused on comprehensive reform, the other on information technology and medicine.
 
In February, 2008, CED released Harnessing Openness to Transform American Health Care. The report is third in a series by the Digital Connections Council (DCC). The report explores how American health care can be greatly improved by embracing “openness” throughout the health care industry. More than 80 senior business, education and civic leaders convened for the report’s release event in the Bay Area which. Participants lamented the lack of national leadership on standardization and broad consensus building on proprietary regulations that slow the speed of helpful forms of “openness.”

 
Released in October, 2007, Quality Affordable Health Care for All: Moving Beyond the Employer-Based Health-Insurance System, examines the failure of the employer based health insurance, and recommends a universal, market-based health-insurance system in its place. “Employer insurance is failing because of rapid cost increases and the inability to provide high-value care. CED’s report explains that quality, affordable universal coverage is neither achievable nor sustainable unless we transform the delivery model. Health delivery systems need an independent but transparent regulatory process to achieve productivity and innovation. The CED plan is not Medicare for all, and it is not markets for all,” said Dr. Jerome Grossman, Senior Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government and Director of the Harvard/Kennedy School Health Care Delivery Policy Program.