Are higher daycare expenditures associated with lower “child poverty” rates?
No: The lowest daycare expenditure provinces, Alberta and PEI, have among the lowest LICO rates for children. Quebec spends far more on daycare than any other province ($1.56 billion, $4849 per government-regulated space) but at 16% does not have significantly lower Low Income Cut Off (LICO) rates. Statistics Canada reports that cash “transfers mean fewer low income families” (Perspectives, Autumn 1996.) LICO rates would be lower if child care funding went to children rather than to “spaces” in daycare and related costs. Less than 10 per cent of children 0-12 are in daycare. In short, preferentially subsiding daycare for the few contributes to low income rates used to indicate child poverty. Putting this funding into Child Benefits has been shown to lower LICO rates for children; putting current daycare funding into Child Benefits would reduce LICO rates further. Are higher daycare expenditures associated with higher Labour Force Participation Rates for mothers? No. PEI has the second
Related Questions
- Are there lower registration rates for students and postdocs? What documentation is acceptable for proof of student status?
- Could ultraviolet B irradiance and vitamin D be associated with lower incidence rates of lung cancer?
- Are higher daycare expenditures associated with lower "child poverty" rates?
