There's no such thing as a magic bullet to ensure the health of the Bay State economy, but a proposal for universal early education for children of the commonwealth comes pretty close.

The "Act Establishing Early Education for All," the result of a two-year process involving extensive public policy, economic and scientific research, - and now an important economic cost and benefit analysis - is one of the wisest investments Massachusetts can make in its economic future.

Nobel laureate James J. Heckman argues that early intervention for disadvantaged children promotes staying in school, raises the quality of the workforce, enhances the productivity of schools and has the effect of reducing crime, teen pregnancy and dependence on welfare. And a Chicago study concluded that every dollar spent on early childhood education yields a return of $7 in higher taxes on earnings and lower expenditures on welfare, prisons, crime and special education.

So, can we afford it?

Proponents of the bill had originally pegged the cost of full implementation of the measure at $1.2 billion. That's a fairly expensive magic bullet.

The Early Education for All Campaign, in response to a request from the Legislature, commissioned a team of economists from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University to come up with a solid cost estimate. They came up with a figure of $600 million - or $3,000 per child - that is half the original estimate.

Before arriving at the $600 million figure, the bill's sponsors scrapped their initial plan of offering four free hours of preschool. Although some families would now have to help share the cost, subsidies would be available to assist families who need financial help. Another factor reducing the original cost was the finding that parents wanted fewer hours of preschool coverage than originally estimated.

With a new group of legislators - and a new governor - about to take office, we hope the early childhood education initiative will continue the momentum it has gathered. Business support for the proposal is widespread, including help from such heavy hitters as MassMutual Financial Group, Genzyme genetics and the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

The cost of $600 million for a universal pre-kindergarten program in Massachusetts is an investment the state must make. Moving ahead on this bill should be as elementary as the ABCs.