Money or Kindergarten? Distributive Effects of Cash Versus In-Kind Family Transfers for Young Children

Public support to families with pre-school children can be in the form of cash benefits (e.g. child allowances) or of “in-kind” support (e.g. care services such as kindergartens). The mix of these support measures varies greatly across OECD countries, from a cash / in-kind composition of 10%/90% to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michael Förster, Gerlinde Verbist
Format: Report
Language:unknown
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1787/5k92vxbgpmnt-en
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Summary:Public support to families with pre-school children can be in the form of cash benefits (e.g. child allowances) or of “in-kind” support (e.g. care services such as kindergartens). The mix of these support measures varies greatly across OECD countries, from a cash / in-kind composition of 10%/90% to 80%/20%. This paper imputes the value of services into an “extended” household income and compares the resulting distributive patterns and the redistributive effect of these two strands of family policies. On average, cash and in-kind transfers each constitute 7 – 8% of the incomes of families with young children. Both instruments are redistributive. Cash transfers reduce child poverty by one third, with the estimated impacts in Austria, Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Finland performing above average. When services are accounted for, child poverty falls by one quarter and poverty among children enrolled in childcare is more than halved. This reduction is highest in Belgium, France, Hungary, Iceland and Sweden. L’aide publique aux familles ayant des enfants en âge préscolaire peut prendre la forme de prestations monétaires (allocations familiales, par exemple) ou en «nature» (par exemple les services de garde tels que les jardins d'enfants). La combinaison de ces mesures de soutien varie considérablement selon les pays de l'OCDE, d’une composition monétaire / ou en « nature » allant de 10%/90% à 80%/20%. Ce document attribue la valeur des services à un revenu « élargi » des ménages et compare les facteurs distributifs résultant et l’effet redistributif de ces deux volets de la politique familiale. En moyenne, les transferts monétaires et en nature constituent chacun 7- 8% des revenus des familles ayant des enfants en bas âge. Les deux instruments sont redistributifs. Les transferts monétaires réduisent la pauvreté infantile d'un tiers, et les effets estimés sont en-dessus de la moyenne en Autriche, Irlande, Suède, Hongrie et en Finlande. Lorsque les services sont pris en compte, la pauvreté infantile chute d'un quart et ...