A closer look at demand-side explanations for the Matthew effect in formal childcare uptake in Europe and Australia

Although formal childcare is considered a key social investment policy to combat inequality, available research indicates that in most European and other high-income countries parents with lower socio-economic positions are less likely to use formal childcare. As the literature on the underlying causes of this so-called Matthew effect has not yet converged, this article is the first to assess whether educational gradients in formal childcare uptake can be accounted for by micro-level employment potential and work–family attitudes in 14 European countries and Australia. Complementing available research on supply-side factors such as policy design features, this study indicates that a large part of the educational gradients in formal childcare uptake persist after controlling for socio-demographic background variables, employment potential, and work–family attitudes as micro-level predictors. However, this study also shows that a considerable part of the educational differentiation in formal childcare uptake reflects differential employment potential. This finding turns attention to policies other than childcare to enhance labour market outcomes for lower educated groups, which in turn might attenuate the Matthew effect in formal childcare. Furthermore, a positive relation between individual-level work–family attitudes and the uptake of formal childcare is also identified as a partial explanation for educational gradients in formal childcare uptake. Although the explanatory power of work–family attitudes as an underlying determinant of the Matthew effect is more limited compared to employment potential, such variation in the acceptance of maternal employment and formal childcare should also be considered in the design of inclusive work–family policies.