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Who Looks after the Kids? The Effects of Childcare Choice on Early Childhood Development in China

Zhang, Jing; Appleton, Simon; Song, Lina; Liu, Bing

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Authors

JING ZHANG J.ZHANG@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Assistant Professor

SIMON APPLETON SIMON.APPLETON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Development Economics

LINA SONG LINA.SONG@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Economic Sociology & Chinese Studies

Bing Liu



Abstract

This paper examines whether childcare choice affects the early childhood development of children aged 7-59 months. Using the data from Chinese Family Panel Surveys, we look at household choices between parental and grandparental cares and the timing of four key early life achievements-walking, talking, counting and toilet training. We conceptualise early childhood development within a household production model, which enables us to identify the impacts of childcare. Our results suggest that compared with parental care, grandparental care delays the achievement of all four outcome measures. Grandparental care is particularly disadvantageous for children who are "left-behind" by migrant parents. JEL classification numbers: J13; D13; I15

Citation

Zhang, J., Appleton, S., Song, L., & Liu, B. (2021). Who Looks after the Kids? The Effects of Childcare Choice on Early Childhood Development in China. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 83(3), 619-640. https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12410

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 21, 2020
Online Publication Date Feb 11, 2021
Publication Date 2021-06
Deposit Date Feb 11, 2021
Publicly Available Date Feb 15, 2021
Journal Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Print ISSN 0305-9049
Electronic ISSN 1468-0084
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 83
Issue 3
Pages 619-640
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12410
Keywords Early childhood development; Childcare; China
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4965756
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obes.12410

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