The Effects of Childcare on Women and Children: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Smart investment in global childcare requires local solutions and a coordinated research agenda

“…This is important as large-scale population-based surveys currently do not capture information on comparable indicators on childcare service availability or use, nor do they include information on informal or kinship-based care arrangements, obscuring understanding of coverage of different types of care models, over time and across contexts. In addition, studies on access to new forms of childcare services in the region suggest uptake rates are far from universal, varying from 25% to 73%, indicating a need for a better understanding of what drives demand and preference across contexts vis-à-vis existing traditional childcare models 10 12. For example, family or kinship-based models of childcare, which women and families may prefer to low-quality centre-based services, are widely used across the continent, particularly in rural areas 15 16.…”

“…In addition, studies on access to new forms of childcare services in the region suggest uptake rates are far from universal, varying from 25% to 73%, indicating a need for a better understanding of what drives demand and preference across contexts vis-à-vis existing traditional childcare models. 10 12 For example, family or kinship-based models of childcare, which women and families may prefer to low-quality centre-based services, are widely used across the continent, particularly in rural areas. 15 16 Nonetheless, as family structures change due to rapid urbanisation, research should address these trade-offs to better understand targeting of services and how to close gaps in access due to cost, gender norms and other factors.…”

“…Since the aforementioned systematic review was compiled, several other working papers have emerged, examining the impacts of community-based daycare in rural Democratic Republic of Congo, 'mobile creches' in Burkina Faso and childcare vouchers alongside cash transfers in Uganda. [10][11][12] Despite producing promising results underscoring the value of childcare in rural settings, author teams are nearly exclusively based outside the region, reinforcing inequalities in knowledge generation and missing opportunities to decolonise research on unpaid care. 13 14 The GrOW portfolio of mixed-methods impact evaluations underway on childcare and women's economic empowerment in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda seeks to reverse this trend, with nationally led evaluation teams.…”

Public Childcare, Labor Market Outcomes of Caregivers, and Child Development: Experimental Evidence from Brazil

“…In Ecuador, daycare provision increases mothers' labor force participation but has no impacts on children's cognitive development (Rosero, 2012). And in Burkina Faso, daycare led to positive impacts for both child development and women's employment outcomes (Ajayi et al, 2022).…”

Early Child Care and Labor Supply of Lower-Ses Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In the development context,Bjorvatn et al (2022) show that offering families in Uganda child care subsidies without additional cash transfers has no impact on maternal labor supply.7 In general, the evidence from developing countries on how child care affects mothers is somewhat mixed. In contrast toAttanasio et al (2022),Clark et al (2019) andAjayi et al (2022) find positive effects of early child care access on mothers' labor market outcomes in Kenya and Burkina Faso, respectively.8 Following the literature, we also use the term "child penalty" for conceptual accuracy. The term is sometimes criticized for its normative connotation(Berniell et al, 2021), and we do not mean to imply any value judgment regarding children or labor market decisions by using the term.…”