Improving Childcare Quality Through Social Franchising

Abstract

Childcare quality is important for children’s development and parental labor market outcomes. However, in low-income settings there is little regulation of the childcare industry, raising concerns about child safety and health. In this project, we partner with a social enterprise dedicated to improving childcare quality through training and facility improvements. We randomize their entry into 51 communities across 11 counties in urban informal settlements of Kenya. Using a sample of 978 providers, we test whether childcare quality improves, whether providers revenues change in response to quality, and whether daycare enrollment changes 12, and 24 months after entry. We combine those three rounds of firm data with data from 2,820 households with small children to examine the effect of improving childcare quality on household labor force participation and children’s development. This study informs whether a social-franchising model can improve childcare quality and improve child well-being in settings with limit regulation.

Keywords: childcare, daycare, quality, profits, microenterprise, labor supply, Child development