Grandparents as Child Care Providers : Factors to Consider When Designing Child Care Policies

Formal child care services can expand women's economic opportunities and promote equity through early childhood development. However, academics and policy makers often overlook the role of relatives as child care providers. This note discusses how grandparent-provided child care can be factored into child care policies in the context of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, omitting the role of relatives when estimating costs and benefits of child care programs can give biased and incomplete results that might even reverse certain programs. The focus of this note is on the opportunity cost of relatives particularly grandparents who care for children. Not just governments spend on child care programs grandparents spend considerable time caring for grandchildren. Depending on their labor market status and work history, grandparents' opportunity cost could be high or low; governments should factor in such costs when evaluating programs. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are experimenting with policies that formally support grandparent-provided child care.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Posadas, Josefina
Format: Brief biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012-12
Subjects:CARE FOR CHILDREN, CHILD CARE, CHILD CARE FACILITIES, CURRENT POPULATION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DISPARITIES BETWEEN MEN, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, EARLY RETIREMENT, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ELDERLY, FAMILY LABOR, FEMALE LABOR, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, FERTILITY, FUTURE GENERATIONS, GENDER EQUALITY, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN RESOURCES, IMMIGRATION, JOB LOSS, JOBS, KIDS, LABOR ECONOMICS, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR SUPPLY, MARRIED WOMEN, MOTHER, OCCUPATIONS, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, PARENTS, POLICY MAKERS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, PREVIOUS STUDIES, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PUBLIC SUPPORT, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RESPECT, RETIREMENT, SAFETY, SCHOOL CHILDREN, SPOUSE, SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, WAGES, WORK SCHEDULES,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/12/17069081/grandparents-child-care-providers-factors-consider-designing-child-care-policies
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17056
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