How Does Early Childcare Enrollment Affect Children, Parents, and Their Interactions?
62 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2017 Last revised: 25 Aug 2018
There are 2 versions of this paper
How Does Early Childcare Enrollment Affect Children, Parents, and Their Interactions?
How Does Early Childcare Enrollment Affect Children, Parents, and Their Interactions?
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: Suggested Citation