We provide the first causal evidence of discrimination against migrants seeking child care. We send emails from fictitious parents to 18,000 early child care centers across Germany, asking if there is a slot available and how to apply. Randomly varying names to signal migration background, we...

Previous studies on the impact of day care center attendance on child development have focused on quantitative aspects (e. g., capacity of the center). Yet the quality of a day care center is also relevant and is increasingly being discussed in the context of day care expansion. The discussion...

For children with a migration background, attending a daycare or after-school center can be an important part of integration and participation in German society. As a result, many experts are critical that “migrant children” are underrepresented in daycare centers. Based on the latest...

Most literature on the relationship between childcare availability and maternal labour force participation examines childcare for preschool aged children. Yet families must continue to arrange childcare once their children enter primary school, particularly in countries where the school day ends...

Die Erwerbsbeteiligung von Müttern ist in Deutschland im Vergleich zu anderen OECD-Ländern noch immer gering. Im Mittelpunkt stand bisher meist die Betreuung von Kindern im Kita-Alter. Doch der Betreuungsbedarf endet nicht mit der Einschulung eines Kindes. Der vorliegende Bericht untersucht...

Sprachliche Fähigkeiten unterscheiden sich bei Kindern im Alter von vier bis fünf Jahren mitunter deutlich nach der Bildung der Eltern. Die meisten bisherigen Studien - und damit auch viele bildungspolitische Maßnahmen - orientierten sich mit Blick auf die Sprachkompetenzwerte am Durchschnitt...

Although universal childcare has become an essential tool to support child development, few economic studies analyze its effects on non-cognitive skills and little is known about causal effects on these skills in the long run. In this paper we go beyond short run analyses and examine the long...

This paper uses propensity score methods to analyse the effect of involuntary maternal job loss on children's non-cognitive skills. My analyses are based on a rich and nationwide random sample, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) that includes information about maternal job loss and...

Children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to benefit more from early child care, but are substantially less likely to be enrolled. We study whether reducing behavioral barriers in the application process increases enrollment in child care for lower-SES children. In our RCT in Germany...

Children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to benefit more from early child care, but are substantially less likely to be enrolled. We study whether reducing behavioral barriers in the application process increases enrollment in child care for lower-SES children. In our RCT in Germany...