Work

Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Why are children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) substantially less likely to be enrolled in child care? We study whether barriers in the application process work against lower-SES children—the group known to benefit strongest from child care enrollment. In an RCT in Germany with highly subsidized child care ($N=607$), we offer treated families information and personal assistance for applications. We find substantial, equity-enhancing effects of the treatment, closing half of the large SES gap in child care enrollment. Increased enrollment for lower-SES families is likely driven by altered application knowledge and behavior. We discuss scalability of our intervention and derive policy implications for the design of universal child care programs. (JEL: I21, J13, J18, J24, C93)

Source: Journal of the European Economic Association

DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvae054

Authors: Henning Hermes, Philipp Lergetporer, Frauke Peter, Simon Wiederhold

Institutions: Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Technical University of Munich, German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Halle Institute for Economic Research

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, No poverty, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,751