Peer-reviewed article
Universal Child Care and Long-Term Effects on Child Well-Being: Evidence from Canada
Catherine Haeck, Laëtitia Lebihan, Philip Merrigan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at the long-term effects of Quebec's $5 per day universal child care policy on children's health, behaviour, and motor and social development. Children were followed for more than 19 years. The authors report that the negative effects seen in preschoolers in earlier studies continued for most outcomes. Once children started school, only the effect on emotional disorder and anxiety remained, and it was smaller. For teenagers aged 12 to 19, the estimates do not suggest the effects continue.
Key points
- Quebec's $5 per day universal child care policy was evaluated over a follow-up of more than 19 years.
- Negative effects on preschoolers found in earlier studies persisted over time for most outcomes.
- In school-age children, only the effect on emotional disorder and anxiety persisted, at a smaller size than in preschool.
- For teens aged 12 to 19, the estimates do not suggest that the effects persist.
Limitations
The abstract gives no sample sizes, effect sizes, or details of the comparison group, and it describes the framework as nonexperimental. It therefore cannot tell us how strong the causal evidence is or how large the effects are.
Abstract
We evaluate the long-term effects of the Canadian province of Quebec’s $5 per day universal child care policy on child and youth well-being (health, behavior, motor and social development). Treated children are followed for more than 19 years. Estimates based on a nonexperimental evaluation framework show that the negative effects on preschoolers documented in previous studies persist over time for most outcomes. Once children enter school, only the impact on emotional disorder and anxiety persists, but the magnitude is smaller than for preschool children. For teens aged 12–19 years old, our estimates do not suggest that the effects persist.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Quebec's $5 per day universal child care policy.
- Population
- Children in the Canadian province of Quebec who were exposed to the policy, followed from preschool into youth (ages 12-19).
Key finding
Negative effects on preschoolers persisted over time for most outcomes.
Haeck et al. · OpenAlex · 1 Mar 2018