Published
Jun 5, 2013Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1847429346Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jun 20, 2012Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1847429339Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy Press
Childcare Markets
The viability, quality and sustainability of publicly supported early childhood education and care services is a lively issue in many countries, especially since the rights of the child imply equal access to provision for all young children. But equitable provision within childcare markets is highly problematic, as parents pay for what they can afford and parental income inequalities persist or widen.
This highly topical book presents recent, significant research from eight nations where childcare markets are the norm. It also includes research about ‘raw’ and ‘emerging’ childcare markets operating with a minimum of government intervention, mostly in low income countries or post transition economies. Childcare markets compares these childcare marketisation and regulatory processes across the political and economic systems in which they are embedded. Contributions from economists, childcare policy specialists and educationalists address the question of what constraints need to be in place if childcare markets are to deliver an equitable service.
"... a stimulating collection." Journal of Economic Affairs
"This volume provides an important contribution to the study of childcare policy, which makes it an important addition to any university-level course in childcare or
policy analysis." Journal of Children and Poverty
"describing childcare markets in various developed countries" John Pierson, Visiting Lecturer, Staffordshire University
“The book is a comprehensive resource for those with an interest in comparative family policy and children’s services as well as a general interest in the mixed economy of welfare. It can be read cover to cover for a broad understanding of childcare markets from a policy perspective, or as stand-alone chapters for those interested in a particular country or context.” – Journal of European Social Policy
"... looks dispassionately at the factors shaping the childcare market in the UK of the future." Young Minds magazine
In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished scholars provide incisive analyses of market-based child care around the world. They convey child care for what it is--both a service to parents and a major determinant of children’s development and future life course. An informative must-read for both scholars and policymakers.
Edward Zigler, Ph.D.
Sterling Professor of Psychology, Emeritus
Director Emeritus, The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and
Social Policy, Yale University
Lloyd and Penn have drawn together a multi-disciplinary, international, team of experts to study and reflect on childcare markets’ consequences for
young children and their families. The book will be of great use to those studying the mixed economy childcare, and those interested in market-based approaches of other caring public services.
Mike Brewer, University of Essex.
Eva Lloyd, Reader in Early Childhood at the University of East London, UK, and Co-director of the International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC), has extensive childhood policy research experience.
Helen Penn is Professor of Early Childhood at the University of East London and Co-director of ICMEC. Her research focuses on the impact of childcare marketisation on children, families and services, taking a global overview.
Part I: Introduction: Childcare markets: an introduction ~ Eva Lloyd; Childcare markets: do they work? ~ Helen Penn; What future for the mature UK childcare market? ~ Philip Blackburn; Part II: Explorations in childcare markets: Local providers and loyal parents: competition and consumer choice in the Dutch childcare market ~ Janneke Plantenga; Tinkering with early childhood education and care: the case of early education vouchers in Hong Kong ~ Gail Yuen; Markets and childcare provision in New Zealand: towards a fairer alternative ~ Linda Mitchell; Publicly available and supported early education and care for all: the case of Norway ~ Kari Jacobsen and Gerd Vollset; Childcare markets in the US: supply and demand, quality and cost, and public policy ~ Laura Sosinsky; Workforce shortages in the Canadian ECEC sector: how big, how costly and how solvable? ~ Robert Fairholm and Jerome Davis; Raw and emerging childcare markets ~ Helen Penn; Part III: Ethics and principles: Need markets be the only show in town? ~ Peter Moss; ABC Learning and Australian early childhood education and care: a retrospective audit of a radical experiment ~ Jennifer Sumsion; Childcare markets and government intervention ~ Gillian Paull.
