Regulating Child Care Markets. Center-based Care vs. Family Day-Care in Germany

摘要

This paper uses child care reforms in Germany to investigate the effects of the legal and economic environment on publicly provided early child care quantity and quality. The analysis is based on administrative data covering all child care centers and family day carers in Germany and school entrance examination data. I find that regulations of staff quality have negative effects on the quantity of care. The results show that family day care is beneficial for children's development.