Pulse story · 1 cited sourceOctober 3, 2026
Parental competition negatively associates with childcare quality
A Quebec study measures childcare quality through inspection violations and penalties, finding the association with parental competition strongest in less affluent neighbourhoods.
The paper measures childcare quality by the violations and penalties recorded in Quebec Ministry of Family Affairs inspections. It finds that parental competition for daycare spots, rather than centres competing to attract parents, is negatively associated with childcare quality. The association is mainly driven by less affluent neighbourhoods and is stronger for more serious violations.
Evidence
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Competition and childcare quality: Evidence from QuebecJournal of Social Policy · Jun 20
- Parental competition negatively associates with childcare quality
- A Quebec study measures childcare quality through inspection violations and penalties, finding the association with parental competition strongest in less affluent neighbourhoods.
- The paper measures childcare quality by the violations and penalties recorded in Quebec Ministry of Family Affairs inspections.
- It finds that parental competition for daycare spots, rather than centres competing to attract parents, is negatively associated with childcare quality.
- The association is mainly driven by less affluent neighbourhoods and is stronger for more serious violations.
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