How Does Early Childcare Enrollment Affect Children, Parents, and Their Interactions?

62 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2017 Last revised: 25 Aug 2018

See all articles by Shintaro Yamaguchi

Shintaro Yamaguchi

University of Tokyo - Graduate School of Economics

Yukiko Asai

University of Tokyo - Institute of Social Science

Ryo Kambayashi

Hitotsubashi University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 22, 2018

Abstract

We estimate the effects of childcare enrollment on child outcomes by exploiting a staggered childcare expansion across regions in Japan. We find that childcare improves language development and reduces the symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and aggression among the children of low-education mothers. To shed light on underlying mechanisms, we also examined parental outcomes. Estimates indicate that childcare use improves parenting quality and subjective well-being and reduces stress among low-education mothers. Our estimates for marginal treatment effects indicate that children who would benefit most from childcare are less likely to attend, implying inefficient allocation.

Keywords: cognitive skill, non-cognitive skill, early childhood education, marginal treatment effect

JEL Classification: H4, I2, J13, J18

Suggested Citation

Yamaguchi, Shintaro and Asai, Yukiko and Kambayashi, Ryo, How Does Early Childcare Enrollment Affect Children, Parents, and Their Interactions? (August 22, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2932875 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2932875

Shintaro Yamaguchi (Contact Author)

University of Tokyo - Graduate School of Economics ( email )

Tokyo
Japan

Yukiko Asai

University of Tokyo - Institute of Social Science ( email )

Hongo 7-3-1
Tokyo, TOKYO 113-0033
Japan

Ryo Kambayashi

Hitotsubashi University ( email )

2-1 Naka Kunitachi-shi
Tokyo 186-8601
Japan

HOME PAGE: http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/English/faculty/kambayashi.html

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