Hirokazu Yoshikawa

University Professor

New York University

Hirokazu Yoshikawa is a community and developmental psychologist who studies the effects of public policies and programs related to immigration, early childhood development, and poverty reduction on child and youth development in the United States and in low- and middle-income countries. He codirects the Global TIES for Children Center at New York University, devoted to research on programs and policies for children in low-income and conflict-affected countries. He is the cochair of the education workgroup of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the research and technical group advising the Secretary-General on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

Families in the United States bear the brunt of the particularly high costs of raising and caring for children in the first years of life. This occurs during the period of development when brain architecture is also the most sensitive to environmental adversity and enrichment. Programs and policies in the early years show promise in reducing early educational inequality. These include high-quality preschool and expanded child tax credits or child allowances for families with young children.

Hirokazu Yoshikawa