Access to Childcare Services: The Role of Demand and Supply-Side Policies |
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Authors: | Maria-Isabel Farfan-Portet Vincent Lorant Francesca Petrella |
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Institution: | 1.Institut of Health and Society,Université Catholique de Louvain,Brussels,Belgium;2.Sciences Economiques et Gestion,Université de la Méditerranée,Aix de Provence,France |
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Abstract: | Different demand-side or supply-side instruments can be used in order to encourage the use of formal childcare. With the budgetary
constraints of the last two decades, some countries have changed their childcare policy leading to the implementation of demand-side
rather than supply-side instruments. The introduction of demand-side subsidies to encourage the use of formal childcare services
was a major change in Belgium since, until 1988, subsidies were directly granted to childcare services providers in order
to reduce their running costs. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of both demand-side and supply side subsidies
on the use of formal childcare by low-income families. From this perspective, we analyzed, on the one hand, the effect of
the tax deduction instrument implemented in Belgium and, on the other hand, the effect of an increase in the provision of
childcare places on the use of formal childcare services. We found that the choice of policy instruments is not neutral in
terms of access to formal childcare for families belonging to different income groups. Indeed, while a higher supply of childcare
places increases the probability of access for low-income families, the tax deduction can have a mixed outcome as far as access
to childcare is concerned. |
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