Strike a Chord: The Economic Defense for Mentoring At Risk Youths

When most people think about what an economist studies they think of things like capital flows and financial markets. But Dr. Phillip Levine of Wellesley College has dedicated his career to studying something that some might consider an unorthodox topic in the economic field: the economic benefits of mentoring at-risk youths.

Dr. Phillip Levine said he has always had a strong interest in examining the ways in which one can work to improve economic opportunities for kids in economically deprived areas. And his 2014 study, Designing Effective Mentoring Programs For Disadvantaged Youths, was a natural extension of that interest. 

Levine's study was prompted by his desire "to figure out ways to help disadvantaged youths thrive." He said "providing greater opportunities for these children is a great challenge. But there are many different ways that we can do this."

Levine said mentoring programs have successfully bolstered kids' academic performance. And Levine said this fact is what translates into better economic outcomes for them in the future. However, Levine maintains that community based programs, such as traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters type programs do a better job then school based ones. This is because they are more time intensive and impart special skills such as confidence and leadership.

"These programs offer less so much the technical skills that lead to economic success down the road, but rather the life skills that help kids navigate the waters and make the right decisions going forward," He said.

Levine said the fact that many poor kids live in single parent homes, puts them at risk of not learning these life skills that are important for future academic and economic success. 

Levine clarified that "Its not that a single parent can't make a good parent, of course they can." But he said "having an extra person available to provide that life guidance and support to the child at an especially critical moment certainly appears like it has the possibility of helping"

The return on investment, according to Levine's analysis, is staggering. Using a forecaster that predicts future economic earnings based on things like GPA and test scores. Levine concludes Big Brothers Big Sisters type programs have a five fold return on the original cost per pupil.