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One billion euro programme for early childcare services in Italy

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  • Isabella Giorgetti
  • Matteo Picchio

Abstract

In 2007 the Italian central government started a programme by transferring funds to regional governments to develop both private and public early childcare services. Exploiting the different timing of programme implementation across regions, we evaluate its effectiveness in boosting the public supply of early childhood educational services. We find that the ratio between the available slots in public early childhood education and the population aged 0–2 increased by 18% 3 years after the start of the programme, with respect to the pre‐programme level. The programme impact was, however, limited in the South and mostly driven by the Center‐North.

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  • Isabella Giorgetti & Matteo Picchio, 2021. "One billion euro programme for early childcare services in Italy," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 460-492, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:metroe:v:72:y:2021:i:3:p:460-492
    DOI: 10.1111/meca.12329
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniela Del Boca & Enrica Maria Martino & Chiara Pronzato, 2022. "Non cognitive skills and childcare attendance," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1059-1085, December.
    2. Luigi Brighi & Paolo Silvestri, 2019. "Inefficiency in Childcare Production: Evidence from Italian Microdata," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 5(1), pages 103-133, March.
    3. Debora Di Gioacchino & Emanuela Ghignoni & Alina Verashchagina, 2020. "To be or not to be a (good) mother: Life-long decisions of women in Italy," Working Papers in Public Economics 193, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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