A randomized controlled trial on the effect of administrative burden and information costs on social inequalities in early childcare access in France

Abstract

Low-socioeconomic-status (SES) and immigrant households benefit the most from attending high-quality early childcare, but they often access it the least. This study tests whether cognitive and behavioural barriers contribute to these access gaps in the French context, where disparities in early childcare enrolment are large. Through a multi-arm experiment, we evaluate the effectiveness of informational interventions and personalized support to enhance early childcare application and access in a sample of 1,849 households. Results revealed that the information-only treatment had minimal impact, while adding personalized support to alleviate administrative burdens significantly bridged the SES and migration gaps in early childcare applications. However, despite substantial increases in application rates, we found limited impacts on access rates for low-SES and immigrant households. Our research underscores the need for integrated strategies to promote equal opportunities in early childhood education by identifying key obstacles to early childcare access for these households.