The child care problem: an economic analysis

Abstract

Although the importance of child-care quality has been much studied and discussed, the child-care market has not responded with increases in quality. Why mediocre quality persists and how this situation can be improved are major foci of this excellent work, which is divided into three parts: the first offers an overview of the child-care market and of economic models for understanding it; the second is a detailed presentation of empirical analyses of market characteristics including supply, demand, and quality; the third examines existing public policy followed by the author's proposal for an incentive-based policy for addressing problems in the child-care market. Blau (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) devotes substantial effort to providing noneconomist readers with the background necessary for understanding the economic approach to analyzing markets and the interaction of markets and public policy. He also presents and analyzes research by developmental psychologists on quality and child outcomes. The book integrates previously published and unpublished work by the author and various coauthors as well as new analyses. By pulling this careful and original research together and incorporating it with a solid overview and policy reviews and recommendations, Blau provides an essential work on child-care economics and public policy. Upper-division undergraduate through professional.

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