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Discrimination on the child care market: A nationwide field experiment

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  • Hermes, Henning
  • Lergetporer, Philipp
  • Mierisch, Fabian
  • Peter, Frauke

Abstract

We provide the first causal evidence of discrimination against migrants seeking child care. We send emails from fictitious parents to > 18, 000 early child care centers across Germany, asking if there is a slot available and how to apply. Randomly varying names to signal migration background, we find that migrants receive 4.4 percentage points fewer responses. Responses to migrants also contain substantially fewer slot offers, are shorter, and less encouraging. Exploring channels, discrimination against migrants does not differ by the perceived educational background of the email sender. However, it does differ by regional characteristics, being stronger in areas with lower shares of migrants in child care, higher right-wing vote shares, and lower financial resources. Discrimination on the child care market likely perpetuates existing inequalities of opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Suggested Citation

  • Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Peter, Frauke, 2023. "Discrimination on the child care market: A nationwide field experiment," DICE Discussion Papers 398, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:dicedp:398
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    Cited by:

    1. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Does Information about Inequality and Discrimination in Early Child Care Affect Policy Preferences?," IZA Discussion Papers 16759, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Steinberg Hannah S. & Schüller Simone & Öztürk Yasmin & Klein Thilo & Schober Pia, 2024. "Alleinerziehende in der Betreuungsplatzvergabe: Status quo und Handlungsempfehlungen," Wirtschaftsdienst, Sciendo, vol. 104(5), pages 336-342, May.
    3. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    4. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Fabian Mierisch & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Males Should Mail? Gender Discrimination in Access to Childcare," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 427-431, May.
    5. Fischer, Sandra & Glaser, Stella & Stöbe-Blossey, Sybille, 2024. "Zwischen (Rechts-)Anspruch und Realität: Soziale Selektivität in der Kindertagesförderung," IAQ-Report 2024-06, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child care; discrimination; information provision; inequality; field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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