Mooretoons

Senator Elizabeth Warren released her proposal for universal child care in the United States as part of her presidential campaign platform, so I thought I’d do a little reading on how the policy has played out elsewhere. There is a LOT of research, so don’t expect this post to be comprehensive. Not even close. Here are a couple of publicly available studies that I did my best to summarize. After that follows my usual random selection of stuff I stumble upon.

Who Benefits from Universal Child Care? Estimating Marginal Returns to Early Child Care Attendance

This study of administrative data from universal child care and preschool programs in Germany finds that children from both disadvantaged and advantaged backgrounds who enter these programs early have similar rates of school readiness; whereas when children from either group enter these programs late, children from advantaged backgrounds have significantly higher levels of school readiness than children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Researchers found that children from immigrant families were less likely to attend child care early, but experienced higher rates of return than native children. The authors suggest several explanations for why disadvantaged children who attend late are often less prepared for school (compared to late-attending advantaged children) including home environment, less exposure to peers and learning activities, cultural and class biases of the enrollment mechanisms, etc. (The authors betray certain biases of their own, FYI.)  They also discuss structural and cultural barriers that prevent early enrollment for disadvantaged communities, and suggest policy changes to better serve them. Universal programs have an unfortunate history of underserving populations of minorities and the poor, so we need to keep that in mind while we push for programs like single payer, etc. in the US.

[Cornelissen, Thomas, et al. “Who benefits from universal child care? Estimating marginal returns to early child care attendance.” Journal of Political Economy 126.6 (2018): 2356-2409.]

Is universal child care leveling the playing field?

This study finds that lower and middle income households in Norway gain significant economic benefits and intergeneration mobility from universal child care programs, while upper class households face losses in earnings. “Our findings demonstrate that the effects of child care vary systematically across the outcome distribution, and that children of low income parents seem to be the primary beneficiaries. This is especially important when considering the case for universal child care programs, since the benefits of providing subsidized child care to middle and upper-class children are unlikely to exceed the costs.” No surprise then that the loudest voices against universal programs like these come from the upper strata of American society.

[Havnes, Tarjei, and Magne Mogstad. “Is universal child care leveling the playing field?.” Journal of public economics 127 (2015): 100-114.]

The Coming Care Crisis as Kids With Autism Grow Up

“About half a million people on the autism spectrum will legally become adults over the next decade, a swelling tide for which the country is unprepared. When they turn 21, these people leave behind all the programming and funding they received under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and enter a labyrinth of government services that vary wildly from state to state. Although people with other disabilities face similar problems, the staggering rise in diagnoses of autism creates a distinctly troubling dilemma in how to ensure that these people receive proper care.”

Blackface, KKK hoods and mock lynchings: Review of 900 yearbooks finds blatant racism

“The volume of shocking imagery found in the examination, which was not comprehensive, suggests that there are likely more yearbooks that recorded racism on campuses nationwide – and countless more acts never captured on camera or submitted for publication.”

Trump and Venezuela: We’ve Seen This Movie Before

“In this effort, the administration is not drawing on successful interventions of the past. It’s taking the blooper reel as a guide. We have ample experience to indicate this approach won’t work and could lead us into disaster.”