Description
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Author's main message
The availability of low-cost childcare should reduce the cost of child rearing and therefore have a positive effect on fertility. Indeed, there is empirical evidence that shows a positive link between childcare availability and prices and families’ fertility decisions. However, some types of childcare are accessible only to certain families due to relatively high costs (e.g. childminders or private formal care) or because of family characteristics (e.g. proximity to and age of grandparents). It is therefore important to expand childcare possibilities to all parents via publicly funded childcare.
Motivation
Fertility decisions are taken at the individual/couple level and may be influenced by the social relationships and networks to which individuals belong as well as the prevailing institutional and cultural setting in which they live. Comprehensive availability and/or low cost of childcare should make having children easier for parents, and therefore have a positive effect on the decision to have a child [1]. In examining this topic, it is useful to distinguish among different types of childcare: care provided by parents, care in formal childcare centers, care provided by childminders and relatives (especially grandparents). These forms of childcare are characterized by different availability and costs. Formal childcare may be publicly or privately provided, with the differences being related to the required fees and families’ probability of access; professional childminders may be available with higher costs compared to other modes; finally, grandparents may represent a flexible and cheap childcare option, but only if grandparents are in good health, not in employment, and geographically close. Aside from the availability and cost of childcare, other aspects, such as preferences, trust (toward institutions, other people, and one’s own family) and the quality of childcare may also influence fertility rates.
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