This research estimates by how much the NCS reduces childcare costs for families who use formal childcare in Ireland. The cost 'coverage' of the subsidy, measured by the ratio of the subsidy to the total cost of care, is estimated using the microsimulation model, SWITCH, linked to 2022 data from...

Early childhood is a crucial period for skills development and socio-emotional growth. Forcibly displaced children experience significant trauma, necessitating effective interventions. This paper examines the effect of Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs on the psychosocial and...

This note provides guidance for policymakers, World Bank country teams, and development practitioners to enhance the quality, affordability, and sustainability of home-based childcare (HBC) services in low-income settings. It outlines a comprehensive approach to recognizing HBC as a public good...

We examine gender gaps in early childhood cognitive and social-behavioral skills across several Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Our study complements previous research focused on older children by analyzing the preschool period, a critical stage for lifelong human capital...

Parental caregiving responsibilities can disrupt paid work, contributing to persistent gender inequalities in employment and earnings. Using Australian employer-employee linked data and a dynamic difference-in-differences approach, this study examines how workplace environments shape the impacts...

Models of female labor supply routinely assume that women have accurate expectations about post-birth employment, but little is known about whether this assumption holds. We use a 2019 state-contingent survey of 11,000 Danish women linked to administrative data to compare pre-birth beliefs to...

Conducting a nationally representative survey of 2,500 working parents between Mother's and Father's Day of 2020, we examine gender differences in the childcare shock during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on demographic, household, and labor market factors, we document gender differences in time...

Evidence-based parenting programs are interventions aimed at improving behaviors, parental practices, skills, and knowledge to promote healthy child development, through support and education from professionals or paraprofessionals working directly with the child's caregiver. The objective of...

This policy brief is based on the "Mapping childcare programs and gaps in provision in areas with employment opportunities for women in Honduras" report. The assessment examines the childcare needs of urban households with children ages under 6 in Honduras by investigating time use, care needs,...

Studies into the ethical aspects of consumption tend to focus on a limited class of actions that are explicitly understood as "ethical consumption". The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic provided a context in which other ethical issues and questions of whom we should care for first, and how, suddenly and...

The Next 1000 days of a child's life (spanning from the age of two to five years) offer a window of opportunity to build on early gains to sustain or improve trajectories of healthy development. The Next 1000 Days is crucial for cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional development. As such, this...

We estimate the causal impacts of universal preschool by leveraging a quasi-experimental design based on Israel's implementation of free public preschool for children ages 3 and 4 beginning in September 1999. We focus on the Arab population, who were the main beneficiaries of the first phase of...

As countries face increasing pressure when it comes to providing care services, unpaid caregivers make an invaluable contribution. Care is needed at all ages of life, particularly when individuals face health issues or disabilities. The majority of care is provided within families, without...

As countries face increasing pressure when it comes to providing care services, unpaid caregivers make an invaluable contribution. Care is needed at all ages of life, particularly when individuals face health issues or disabilities. The majority of care is provided within families, without...

Wie sich die Platzbedarfe in Kitas und Schulen entwickeln, hängt vorwiegend von der demografischen Ausgangslage in den Regionen ab. Diese wird wiederum maßgeblich vom Verlauf der Geburtenzahlen bestimmt. Hier unterscheiden sich die ehemaligen beiden deutschen Staaten auch mehr als drei...

We evaluate impacts heterogeneity of an Early Childhood Intervention, with respect to the Educational Attainment Polygenic Score (EA4 PGS) constructed from DNA data based on GWAS weights from a European population. We find that the EA4 PGS is predictive of several measures of child development,...

This report brings together the findings of a comprehensive programme of work that IFS has led on the short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on children's outcomes. At the time this research started, there was little evidence on whether Sure Start had benefited children, especially beyond...

This study examines the care arrangements and needs of urban households with young children in Honduras and measures them relative to the provision of childcare services in the country. The study also investigates the changing burden of childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting...

This chapter argues that parenting choices are a central force in the joint evolution of culture and economic outcomes. We present a framework in which parents - motivated by both their children’s future success and their own normative beliefs - choose parenting styles and transmit cultural...

Many existing approaches to screen time management rely on simplistic time limits or general warnings that fail to address the complex realities families face. Parents often turn to screens as practical solutions to everyday challenges-needing to complete tasks, manage difficult behaviors, or...

Aging populations in Asia are worried that they are facing a "care crisis," with many older people in need of care having no one to care for them. However, we do not have a clear picture of current care patterns: How much care is currently being consumed? Who is providing that care? Are women...

This study investigates whether (and how) working from home (WFH) affects the gender division of parental unpaid labor. I use the recent COVID-19 pandemic that brought an unanticipated yet lasting shift to WFH combined with a measure of occupational WFH feasibility (Alipour et al. 2023) as a...

This infographic depicts the main findings of the report Key data on early childhood education and care in Europe 2025. The findings are based on analysis of policies in 37 European countries (39 education systems). The report covers the EU 27 Member States and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a basic right for all children and a foundation for lifelong learning. It plays a critical role in reducing inequalities and enhancing women's participation in the workforce. This third edition of Key data on early childhood education and care in...

Fachkräftemangel, Demokratiegefährdung, alternde Bevölkerung, digitale Transformation, Migration - die Gesellschaft verändert sich rasant, die politischen Rahmenbedingungen für gute Bildung aber bisweilen nur langsam. In dieser dynamischen Umgebung wird Lernen zum lebenslangen Thema, was...

We leverage pronounced changes in the availability of public schooling for young children - through duration expansions to the kindergarten day - to better understand how an implicit childcare subsidy affects mothers and families. Exploiting full-day kindergarten variation across place and time...

We study how changes in couples' relative wages affect the division of childcare. Using a nationwide wage reform that raised pay in the female-dominated teaching profession, we find that closing 25% of the earnings gap between female teachers and their male spouses led to a 12% reduction in the...

We evaluate impacts heterogeneity of an Early Childhood Intervention, with respect to the Educational Attainment Polygenic Score (EA4 PGS) constructed from DNA data based on GWAS weights from a European population. We find that the EA4 PGS is predictive of several measures of child development,...

We adapted a violence-prevention, parenting program (the Irie Homes Toolbox, or IHT) for integration into Jamaican preschool services. The adapted IHT was evaluated in a mixed-method feasibility trial in Kingston, Jamaica. Twenty-four preschools were randomly assigned to intervention (n12) or...

We evaluate impacts heterogeneity of an Early Childhood Intervention in Colombia, with respect to the Educational Attainment Polygenic Score (EA4 PGS) constructed from DNA data based on GWAS weights from a European population. We find that the EA4 PGS is predictive of several measures of child...

Im Herbst 2021 wurde das Gesetz zur ganztägigen Förderung von Kindern im Grundschulalter (Ganztagsförderungsgesetz - GaFöG ) verabschiedet. Damit haben Grundschulkinder, die im Jahr 2026 oder später in die erste Klasse kommen, bundesweit einen Rechtsanspruch auf eine Förderung im Umfang...