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No Child Left Behind: Universal Child Care and Children’s Long-Run Outcomes

Author

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  • Havnes, Tarjei

    (Norwegian Ministry of Finance)

  • Mogstad, Magne

    (University of Chicago)

Abstract

There is a heated debate in the US, Canada and many European countries about introducing universally accessible child care. However, studies on universal child care and child development are scarce and only consider short-run outcomes. We analyze the introduction of universal child care in Norway, addressing the impact on children's long-run outcomes. Our precise and robust difference-in-difference estimates show that child care had strong positive effects on children's educational attainment and labor market participation, and also reduced welfare dependency. Subsample analysis indicates that children with low educated mothers and girls benefit the most from child care.

Suggested Citation

  • Havnes, Tarjei & Mogstad, Magne, 2009. "No Child Left Behind: Universal Child Care and Children’s Long-Run Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 4561, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4561
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Herbst, Chris M. & Tekin, Erdal, 2010. "Child care subsidies and child development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 618-638, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christina Gathmann & Björn Sass, 2012. "Taxing Childcare: Effects on Family Labor Supply and Children," CESifo Working Paper Series 3776, CESifo.
    2. Christina Felfe & Rafael Lalive, 2012. "Early Child Care and Child Development: For Whom it Works and Why," CESifo Working Paper Series 4043, CESifo.
    3. Arpino, Bruno & Pronzato, Chiara D. & Tavares, Lara P., 2012. "Mothers' Labour Market Participation: Do Grandparents Make It Easier?," IZA Discussion Papers 7065, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Brilli, Ylenia & Del Boca, Daniela & Pronzato, Chiara D., 2011. "Exploring the Impacts of Public Childcare on Mothers and Children in Italy: Does Rationing Play a Role?," IZA Discussion Papers 5918, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Joris Ghysels & Kim Vercammen, 2012. "The beneficiaries of childcare expansion," Working Papers 1202, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    6. Adrien Bouguen & Deon Filmer & Karen Macours & Sophie Naudeau, 2018. "Preschool and Parental Response in a Second Best World: Evidence from a School Construction Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(2), pages 474-512.
    7. Felfe, Christina & Lalive, Rafael, 2012. "Early Child Care and Child Development: For Whom it Works and Why," IZA Discussion Papers 7100, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Zhu, Guozhong & Vural, Gulfer, 2013. "Inter-generational effect of parental time and its policy implications," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1833-1851.
    9. Berger, Eva M. & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2011. "Maternal Life Satisfaction and Child Outcomes: Are They Related?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 142-158, February.
    10. Gathmann, Christina & Sass, Björn, 2012. "Taxing Childcare: Effects on Family Labor Supply and Children," IZA Discussion Papers 6440, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Christina Gathmann & Björn Sass, 2018. "Taxing Childcare: Effects on Childcare Choices, Family Labor Supply, and Children," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 665-709.
    12. Rege, Mari & Solli, Ingeborg Foldøy & Størksen, Ingunn & Votruba, Mark, 2018. "Variation in center quality in a universal publicly subsidized and regulated childcare system," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 230-240.
    13. Chris M. Herbst & Erdal Tekin, 2010. "The Impact of Child Care Subsidies on Child Well-Being: Evidence from Geographic Variation in the Distance to Social Service Agencies," NBER Working Papers 16250, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Janina Reinkowski, 2014. "Empirical Essays in the Economics of Ageing and the Economics of Innovation," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 53.
    15. Billari, Francesco C. & Galasso, Vincenzo & Profeta, Paola & Pronzato, Chiara, 2013. "The Difficult Case of Persuading Women: Experimental Evidence from Childcare," CEPR Discussion Papers 9682, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Datta Gupta, Nabanita & Simonsen, Marianne, 2010. "Non-cognitive child outcomes and universal high quality child care," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1-2), pages 30-43, February.
    17. Nina Drange & Kjetil Telle, 2010. "The effect of preschool on the school performance of children from immigrant families. Results from an introduction of free preschool in two districts in Oslo," Discussion Papers 631, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    18. Emma Tominey, 2010. "The Timing of Parental Income and Child Outcomes: The Role of Permanent and Transitory Shocks," CEE Discussion Papers 0120, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    19. C. Katharina Spieß, 2011. "Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf – wie wirksam sind deutsche „Care Policies“?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(s1), pages 4-27, May.
    20. Stauvermann, Peter J. & Ky, Sereyvath & Nam, Gi-Yu, 2013. "The Costs of Increasing the Fertility Rate in an Endogenous Growth Model," MPRA Paper 46381, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. De Paola, Maria & Brunello, Giorgio, 2016. "Education as a Tool for the Economic Integration of Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 9836, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Yamauchi, Chikako & Leigh, Andrew, 2011. "Which children benefit from non-parental care?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1468-1490.
    23. Emma Tominey, 2010. "The Timing of Parental Income and Child Outcomes: The Role of Permanent and Transitory Shocks," Discussion Papers 10/21, Department of Economics, University of York.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child development; universal child care; long-run outcomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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