Maternity leave versus early childcare—What are the long-term consequences for children?

Maternity leave versus early childcare—What are the long-term consequences for children? IZA World of Labor 2023: 438v2 doi: 10.15185/izawol.438.v2 | Nabanita Datta Gupta and Jonas Jessen © | May 2023 [Previous version May 2018] | wol.iza.org 1 AUTHOR’S MAIN MESSAGE Governments should subsidize universal formal childcare, both to meet labor demands in aging societies and to help develop important skills during the critical early years of a child’s life. Such investments generate substantial long-term returns in educational and employment outcomes, but are most apparent for children from low and middle socio-economic backgrounds. However, care must be taken to counter any deterioration in non-cognitive skills associated with increased time in childcare, and broad-based societal acceptance and support are necessary to ensure that childcare provision is of sufficiently high quality. ELEVATOR PITCH