U.S. Economic Activity Could Grow by Tens of Billions of Dollars If We Invested More in Single Mothers Attending College, Report Shows

By MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a Washington, D.C., think tank, calculates that single mothers who earn bachelor’s degrees pay $220,000 in additional taxes over their lifetimes compared with single mothers with just a high school diploma. Associate’s degree owners contribute $71,400 more, and single mothers with some college but no degree pay $35,000 more in taxes over their lifetimes.

Providing childcare just for the period during which all single mothers are in class — an estimated cost of about $14 billion — is projected to lead to societal benefits of $89 billion from increased wages and less reliance on public aid due to more single moms earning degrees or staying in college longer.