Inequalities in Resources for Preschool-Age Children by Parental Education: Evidence from Six Advanced Industrialized Countries.

Publisher: Springer Netherlands Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8511777 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0168-6577 (Print) Linking ISSN: 01686577 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur J Popul Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE

Publication: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands
Original Publication: Amsterdam : North-Holland, c1985-

This paper provides new evidence on inequalities in resources for children age 3-4 by parental education using harmonized data from six advanced industrialized countries-United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Japan-that represent different social welfare regime types. We analyze inequalities in two types of resources for young children-family income, and center-based child care-applying two alternative measures of parental education-highest parental education, and maternal education. We hypothesize that inequalities in resources by parental education will be less pronounced in countries where social policies are designed to be more equalizing. The results provide partial support for this hypothesis: the influence of parental education on resources for children does vary by the social policy context, although not in all cases. We also find that the measurement of parental education matters: income disparities are smaller under a maternal-only definition whereas child care disparities are larger. Moreover, the degree of divergence between the two sets of estimates differs across countries. We provide some of the first systematic evidence about how resources for young children vary depending on parents' education and the extent to which such inequalities are buffered by social policies. We find that while early inequalities are a fact of life in all six countries, the extent of those inequalities varies considerably. Moreover, the results suggest that social policy plays a role in moderating the influence of parental education on resources for children.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)

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SCHN 1116/1-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); WE 1478/12-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); SCHN 1116/1-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); WE 1478/12-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); SCHN 1116/1-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); WE 1478/12-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); SCHN 1116/1-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); WE 1478/12-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Germany, SCHN 1116/1-1; WE 1478/12-1); ES/S015191/1 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant ES/S015191/1, United Kingdom); ES/S015191/1 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant ES/S015191/1, United Kingdom); ES/S015191/1 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant ES/S015191/1, United Kingdom); ES/S015191/1 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant ES/S015191/1, United Kingdom); ES/S015191/1 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant ES/S015191/1, United Kingdom); ANR-18-ORAR-0001 Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR grant ANR-18-ORAR-0001, France); ANR-18-ORAR-0001 Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR grant ANR-18-ORAR-0001, France); 464.18.102 Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO, The Netherlands, grant number 464.18.102); 464.18.102 Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO, The Netherlands, grant number 464.18.102)

Keywords: Center-based child care; Children; Comparative research; Family income; Inequalities; Parental education

Date Created: 20231208 Latest Revision: 20231230

20231231

PMC10709535

10.1007/s10680-023-09685-0

38064001