Abstract

Abstract

This paper attempts to shed light on the redistributive effect of childcare policies in Catalonia. To this purpose, it examines the impact of a 2004 law aimed at increasing public childcare coverage for under three years-old in Catalonia on the participation in formal childcare for families from different socio-economic backgrounds. The policy is in line with the idea that high quality early childcare is more effective in reducing early life disadvantages than interventions in late childhood and adulthood. Nevertheless, several authors have warned that childcare policies may suffer from the so-called Matthew effect; i.e take-up rates of subsidised childcare are higher for high income groups than low income groups. This is especially the case when female labour force participation is highly stratified, coverage is low and working parents are prioritized in the access to public childcare; three conditions that, with some nuances, were present in the Catalan case prior to the reform. The paper exploits the uneven increase in public coverage across districts (comarques, in Catalan) to analyse its impact on the socio-economic participation gap. Given that the goal of the policy was not to attain full coverage but rather to reach EU recommendations of 30% coverage, it might be that the main beneficiaries of the increase in public coverage are middle-income classes who due to the lack of supply were previously relying on informal or private childcare. The paper uses Panell de Desigualtats Socials a Catalunya (PaD) database from Bofill Foundation, which has individual and household panel data of 5,785 individuals followed from 2001 until 2012. The dataset includes all necessary socio-economic information and, under the Secure Access Agreement, the household district (comarques) and municipality. The paper uses district fixed effects to alleviate endogeneity concerns. Yearly and district data on childcare coverage is taken from the Catalan Education department and Idescat. 

Abstract

 En nuestro país, existe un consenso social y político sobre la importancia del Estado del Bienestar, EB,  para el mantenimiento de la cohesión social. Gracias a nuestro EB, las consecuencias socioeconómicas de la persistente crisis reciente, no ha resultado más dramática para los ciudadanos. Algunos argumentan que debemos ampliar nuestro sistema de protección social, aunque también se alzan voces que cuestionan una ampliación de la cobertura social sin una reforma que garantice la viabilidad económica de todo el sistema.

 Existen dos aspectos básicos en relación a las políticas del bienestar. Por un lado, la cuantificación presupuestaria necesaria para mantener o ampliar el actual “status quo”. Por otra parte, también es relevante el análisis de la distribución entre los distintos agentes económicos de los costes fiscales y de los beneficios sociales que suponen dichas políticas. Ambos aspectos representan las dos caras de una misma moneda. Nosotros estamos interesados en el segundo aspecto, donde se plantea problemas de desigualdad y redistribución de la renta que generan las  políticas del sector público ligadas a nuestro EB.

El objetivo de nuestra investigación se centra en analizar los efectos redistributivos que ejercen las políticas de gasto social - y su financiación mediante los impuestos que soportan los agentes económicos – sobre la distribución de la renta en España.

Queremos identificar, siguiendo a Calonge y Manresa (1997) el efecto redistributivo global neto, sobre la renta familiar, de las prestaciones en efectivo  (pensiones contributivos, no contributivas y  seguro de desempleo), y las prestaciones en especie (educación, sanidad y otros beneficios sociales), teniendo en cuenta que estas prestaciones (gasto social) son financiadas mediante los impuestos y cotizaciones que pagan los propios hogares beneficiarios. Nuestro objetivo es establecer un balance neto entre quienes se benefician y quienes financian nuestro Estado del Bienestar.

Abstract

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the Catalan 2004 law aimed at increasing public childcare coverage for under three years-old on the participation in formal childcare for families from different socio-economic backgrounds. To this purpose, it uses the ''Panell de Desigualtats Socials a Catalunya'' (PaD) database and exploits the uneven increase in public coverage across counties (comarques). The paper finds that while the policy alleviates the socio-economic participation gap between lower- and higher-income families, this one persists for certain sub-groups. More specifically, children whose parents have low education levels, or those from low-income families where the mother works part-time or is in charge of the house and children are significantly less likely to participate in formal childcare than their high-income counterparts.

Abstract