This paper examines the relationship between various types of child care during the first year of a child's life and the child's language and social development measured at age three. A unique contribution of the paper is the estimation of a general selection-correction model that accounts for non-random selection of children into different types of child care. The analysis uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a birth cohort of children born to predominantly low-income single mothers. The results indicate that compared with maternal care, relative care during infancy has more beneficial effects on a child's language development, while day care centers have more beneficial effects on a child's behavioral development.
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