abstract: 'The effects of early childhood education and care (ECEC) have been

  widely researched, but most studies focus on targeted or relatively

  short-term programmes. This paper investigates the long-term effects of

  a universal ECEC programme and underlying mechanisms. By exploiting

  differences in expansion rates of childcare institutions across Japan

  from the 1960s to the 1980s, I find a positive effect of ECEC on income

  at up to age 50. The overall effect is driven by a significant impact

  among women, who were disadvantaged at that time, while there are no

  adverse effects on others. Mediation analysis shows that an increase in

  wages leads to an increase in income, which is triggered by improved

  educational attainment and not an increase in labour supply. The results

  imply that a universal childcare system has the potential to reduce

  income inequality.'
affiliation: 'Kawarazaki, H (Corresponding Author), UCL, Dept Econ, Drayton House,30
  Gordon St, London WC1H 0AX, England.

  Kawarazaki, H (Corresponding Author), Inst Fiscal Studies, 7 Ridgmount St, London
  WC1E 7AE, England.

  Kawarazaki, Hikaru, UCL, Dept Econ, Drayton House,30 Gordon St, London WC1H 0AX,
  England.

  Kawarazaki, Hikaru, Inst Fiscal Studies, 7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE, England.'
author: Kawarazaki, Hikaru
author-email: hikaru.kawarazaki.20@ucl.ac.uk
author_list:
- family: Kawarazaki
  given: Hikaru
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1007/s00148-022-00899-w
earlyaccessdate: JUN 2022
eissn: 1432-1475
files: []
issn: 0933-1433
journal: JOURNAL OF POPULATION ECONOMICS
keywords: 'Early childhood education and care; Inequality; Preschool; Mediation

  analysis; Return to education'
keywords-plus: 'MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT; PERSONALITY-TRAITS; YOUNG-CHILDREN; LIFE-CYCLE;

  AVAILABILITY; PRESCHOOL; POLICIES; MOTHERS; INTERVENTIONS; MEDIATION'
language: English
month: 2022 JUN 9
number-of-cited-references: '106'
orcid-numbers: Kawarazaki, Hikaru/0000-0001-5587-8257
papis_id: b9cfbb4163c0d3d778aeee3aab5e7ff3
ref: Kawarazaki2022earlychildhood
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Early childhood education and care: effects after half a century and their
  mechanisms'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000808448800001
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '8'
web-of-science-categories: Demography; Economics
year: '2022'