Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment

Arbeitspapier

Children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to benefit more from early child care, but are substantially less likely to be enrolled. We study whether reducing behavioral barriers in the application process increases enrollment in child care for lower-SES children. In our RCT in Germany with highly subsidized child care (n > 600), treated families receive application information and personal assistance for applications. For lower-SES families, the treatment increases child care application rates by 21 pp and enrollment rates by 16 pp. Higher-SES families are not affected by the treatment. Thus, alleviating behavioral barriers closes half of the SES gap in early child care enrollment.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 14698

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Analysis of Education ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Demographic Economics: Public Policy ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Field Experiments
• Thema: child care ; early childhood ; behavioral barriers ; information ; educational inequality ; randomized controlled trial

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Hermes, Henning ; Lergetporer, Philipp ; Peter, Frauke ; Wiederhold, Simon
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (wo): Bonn
• (wann): 2021

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/245749
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:43 MEZ