Work

A benefit‐cost analysis of child care subsidy expansions: The New York State case

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Proposals to expand child care assistance have proliferated at the national and state levels. This paper uses a novel approach to estimate the benefits and costs of providing child care subsidies to families up to three times the federal poverty line while supplementing child care worker compensation — a recently‐enacted reform in New York State. We estimate a net present value of $12.14 billion in yearly social benefits relative to a yearly fiscal cost of $1.61 billion. We also examine the time path of benefits and costs, impacts of alternative program designs, and the sensitivity of our main findings.

Source: Contemporary Economic Policy

DOI: 10.1111/coep.12697

Authors: Robert Paul Hartley, Irwin Garfinkel, Elizabeth Ananat, Sophie Collyer, Buyi Wang, Christopher Wimer

Institutions: Columbia University, Barnard College

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,970