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

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

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