What is the use of cheap daycare centers?

Daycare centers in Switzerland are expensive. Much more expensive than anywhere else. In Germany or France, the state bears a large part of the costs of childcare – in this country parents have to dig deep into their pockets.

The National Council Education Commission wants to change that and ensure that more federal funds go to childcare. One of the arguments: if daycare becomes cheaper, working mothers will be more inclined to supplement their low work pressure. But is that really so?

In the middle of the heated debate, an article in the “NZZ am Sonntag” erupted last week. Tenor: Cheaper day care centers hardly contribute to mothers increasing their workload. The 770 million francs that education politicians want to invest in childcare and day schools are therefore largely ineffective. The article is based on a study by labor market expert Josef Zweimüller (63) from the University of Zurich.

But Zweimüller’s conclusion is disputed. Other studies come to the opposite conclusion. Two recently published studies investigate the consequences of expanding the range of care. In concrete terms: do mothers in cantons who have greatly expanded the range of childcare places increase their workload? In both studies the result is yes.

One study is not enough

In one case, economists examined the effect of creating 800 additional nurseries in Neuchâtel. Compared to other cantons, the canton offers above average many cheap places. The authors of the study concluded that the new childcare options are associated with a higher labor force participation of mothers.

In total, the number of working mothers rose by 625 full-time jobs. In other words, thanks to the places created for day care centers, 2,000 women increased their labor participation from 30 to 60 percent.

A second study by the University of Neuchâtel from 2018 also examines the expansion of the day care offer. The author compares cantons that created relatively many childcare places with cantons that did not. Their conclusion: mothers in cantons with a well-developed day-care offering increased their part-time work.

For economics professor Christina Felfe (44) from the University of Würzburg (D), who has worked on the Swiss labor market in various studies, the results show: “You cannot draw the conclusion from one study that childcare places are cheaper and ineffective . ”

Economics professor Rafael Lalive (50) from the University of Lausanne shares this view. He also finds the conclusion of his Zurich colleague untenable, because in Switzerland there is no reduction in childcare places across the board. “Professor Zweimüller’s study is therefore unable to answer the question of what effect a massive reduction in childcare rates in Switzerland would have,” says Lalive.

In his research, Zweimüller came to the conclusion that the trigger for mothers to work more was not cheaper childcare, but a change in traditional role models. The idea that the father brings home the wages and the mother takes care of the children is still firmly established in Switzerland.

More and more fathers work part-time

Professor Felfe agrees that traditional gender norms have a major impact on women’s employment. However, she draws the opposite conclusion: “More and cheaper childcare places are helping to question today’s role models — and give mothers the choice of how much they want to work.”

In addition, price reduction and expansion of the range of day care centers are only parts of a total package. “Family policies encompass much more,” says Felfe. As examples, she cites parental leave or the willingness of companies to offer home offices.

Such changes lead to a change in social attitudes, says Felfe. The economics professor refers to a study on paternity leave in Spain. Children born after the introduction of paternity leave found it normal for men to also take care of their offspring – in contrast to children born before the reform.

“Social-political values ​​don’t change overnight,” says Felfe. Anyone who expects all mothers to increase their workload from 40 to 80 percent as soon as childcare places become cheaper will be disappointed. “But maybe their kids’ kids will.”

Professor Lalive also pleads for patience. The effectiveness of a measure always depends on the social environment. “For those women who increased their workload 20 years ago, it was often hardly worth it: all the housework was still left to them.” But if the fathers also start doing more housework and caring for the children, the cost-benefit calculation for the mothers will change.

That is exactly what has been observed in recent years: the proportion of fathers working part-time is growing slowly but steadily. A certain reconsideration has already begun.

However, future studies will need to examine what effect a significant reduction in the cost of childcare places actually has – if the Education Commission’s proposal is accepted by the National Council.

The decision will be made on Wednesday.

Source:Blick