The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce Challenges and Opportunities: A Workshop Report (2012) / Chapter Skim
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3 Economic Perspectives on the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce
3 Economic Perspectives on the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce
Pages 27-38
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From page 27... ...
Caregivers, teachers, parents, and providers all respond to numerous interrelated market forces, as well as other influences. Consequently, as policy makers decide whether and how to intervene to achieve important goals -- such as improving school readiness, closing achievement gaps, reducing school failure, reducing crime, and increasing graduation rates -- economic analyses can point to both intended and unintended consequences, and provide empirical evidence to demonstrate the potential value gained from particular types of investments in early childhood care and education.
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From page 28... ...
As the ECCE field considers how to craft policies that improve access, availability, and quality of care, researchers need to understand the market factors that affect how parents select or change their care arrangements. Demand in the early childhood market is a function of how parents select their child care arrangements.
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From page 29... ...
Labor is the main input in the production of child care, Blau observed, and the demand by providers for child care workers with different skill levels derives from the demand by parents for child care of different types and quality. Empirical analyses of the labor market for child care show that: • High-quality (developmentally stimulating)
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From page 30... ...
Together, those two changes imply an average annual growth rate of 6.3 percent per year in total child care expenditures over a 20-year period. Average Annual Rate of Growth in Expenditure on Child Care 120 100 80 60 40 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Year Source: Survey of Income and Program Participation Total weekly child care expense Average weekly child care expense Number of families paying for child care FIGURE 3-1 Trends in family child care expenditure.
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From page 31... ...
show that the number of child care workers grew at an average rate of 4.6 percent annually during a recent 10-year period, compared to a lower (1.4 percent) annual growth rate among the number of preschool teachers.
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From page 32... ...
This trend contributed to the decline in child care wage rate, compared with what might have occurred in the absence of an increase in immigration. The decline affected child care workers throughout the skill distribution.
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From page 33... ...
While the market may not have failed, in a technical sense, he suggested, the problems with available child care options could be more easily resolved if all actors in the system had a better understanding of the nature and benefits of high-quality care. COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Interest in the empirical evidence of the short- and long-term returns to investments made in early childhood care and education is increasing, Karoly explained.
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From page 34... ...
This could be done separately for more than one outcome, but it does not involve assigning a dollar value to the outcomes. Cost–savings analysis and benefit–cost analysis both entail assigning a dollar value to the full range of program outcomes, which is a more difficult challenge (see NRC and IOM, 2009)
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From page 35... ...
Home Instruction for Parents of Comprehensive Child Development Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY USA)
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From page 36... ...
The discount rate is 3 percent unless otherwise noted. The value of reducing intangible crime victim costs are excluded Figure 3-4, new type unless otherwise noted.
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From page 37... ...
Cost-effectiveness or benefit–cost analysis of marginal changes in program features, policy alternatives, and specific interventions could all be very useful. For example, if a state legislature wishes to improve early learning and considers increasing spending by $500 per child, one could use cost-effectiveness analysis to determine whether a particular outcome for children could be produced for that price.
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From page 38... ...
SUMMARY In summary, Blau indicated that despite the tremendous increase in the demand for child care, wages for workers have remained relatively flat, due in part to the elastic supply of people willing to work in ECCE for relatively low wages, as well as their high rates of turnover. These factors coupled with relatively low demand for high-quality care make increasing wages difficult.
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