Research summary – Analysis of the impact of alternative childcare policies

Official title of the full report: Analysis of the impact of alternative childcare policies on parents’ labour force participation and economic well-being

Authors of the full report: Kambi Djabir and Sid Ali Amedah

Alternate formats

Analysis of the impact of alternative childcare policies [PDF - 243 KB]

Large print, braille, MP3 (audio), e-text and DAISY formats are available on demand by ordering online or calling 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232). If you use a teletypewriter (TTY), call 1-800-926-9105.

Why this study

Childcare participation is associated with parents’ employment and children’s development. Many advanced countries have designed policies aimed at increasing the labour force participation of parents with young children. One type of policy change deals with the issues of childcare availability and costs.

This study aimed to provide empirical evidence related to the effect of childcare costs based on a set of policy alternatives. We looked at:

What we did

We used statistical modelling methods to understand how parents of young children could react to changes in childcare costs.

We then looked at how parent’s reactions changed under four hypothetical situations (or simulations). These simulations reflected policy scenarios aimed at reducing the costs of childcare.

Data from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) was used.

What we found

Our results showed that:

Based on our simulation results, we found that:

What it means

Our results suggest that any policy aiming to reduce childcare costs has more impact on paid hours worked than on employment participation. This is because Canada’s labour force participation rate is already high for men and women in all family types.

Contact us

Strategic and Service Policy Branch, Social Policy Directorate, Social Research Division

Email: esdc.nc.sspb.research-recherche.dgpss.cn.edsc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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