Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hermes, Henning; Lergetporer, Philipp; Peter, Frauke; Wiederhold, Simon
• 署名单位: Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; Technical University of Munich; Leibniz Association; Leibniz Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH); Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvae054
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 1133-1172
• 关键词: information asymmetries; education; ECONOMICS; returns; parents; demand; access

摘要

Why are children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) substantially less likely to be enrolled in child care? We study whether barriers in the application process work against lower-SES children-the group known to benefit strongest from child care enrollment. In an RCT in Germany with highly subsidized child care ($N=607$), we offer treated families information and personal assistance for applications. We find substantial, equity-enhancing effects of the treatment, closing half of the large SES gap in child care enrollment. Increased enrollment for lower-SES families is likely driven by altered application knowledge and behavior. We discuss scalability of our intervention and derive policy implications for the design of universal child care programs. (JEL: I21, J13, J18, J24, C93)