Home Care Allowance Research Articles

Employed Mothers’ Justifications for Using Child Home Care Allowance in Finland

This paper examines the justifications for using the Child Home Care Allowance given by Finnish mothers with a one-year-old child, and the factors associated with these justifications. The study is based on a survey with parents, focussing on mothers with existing employment contract and spouse ( n = 530). The main justification for home care of a one-year-old child was that the child is too young for out-of-home day care. Experiencing home care as the best interest of the child did not vary according to socioeconomic background. Normative views of motherhood as well as criticism towards the quality of day care was more likely among mothers with a lower occupational status. The practical difficulties of working life were more pronounced among mothers with irregular working hours. The financial unprofitability of employment as a reason for home care was related to the mother’s weaker subjective health, lower socioeconomic status, and higher number of children in the family.

Association Between Gendered Workplaces and the Length of Childcare Leave

Previous research indicates that mothers base the length of their childcare leave on individual opportunity costs. While workplace dynamics and peer influences may affect the duration of the leave, empirical evidence remains inconclusive. This study investigates the association between childcare leave length and workplace characteristics, as well as peer influences in the Finnish institutional context. In Finland, mothers can extend their earnings-related childcare leave with a flat-rate home care allowance until their child turns three years old. At the same time, they are entitled to subsidised day care, allowing them to choose the length of their childcare leave. Our results show that, in the gender-segregated Finnish labour market, the length of childcare leave among mothers varies based on employment sector, number of employees, peers’ leave length, and the share of women in the workplace.

Betreuungsgeld – familienpolitische Leistung oder Hindernis bei der Arbeitsmarktintegration?

Abstract Significant gender gaps in labour market participation still exist in most countries. Nevertheless, from 2013 to 2015, there was a nationwide home care allowance for parents who did not use public childcare for children aged one to two years in Germany. Even after 2015, the home care allowance continued to exist in several federal German states. Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel, we exploit the differences in the design of home care allowance between the federal states and examine its effects on the labour market participation of mothers. For both immigrant and native-born mothers, the impact is significantly negative, i.e. such transfers reduce the labour market participation of mothers.

A Study on the Acts to support Child Care for Child Welfare -Focusing on Home Care Allowance-

A Study on the Acts to support Child Care for Child Welfare -Focusing on Home Care Allowance-

Home care allowance and labor market participation of immigrant and native-born mothers

Most countries still have a significant gender gap in labor force participation, and this gap is especially large for immigrants. Despite this gap, Germany introduced various forms of home care allowances in the last decade. Parallel to the extension of early child care and the inclusion of a legal claim for it, from 2013 to 2015, a nationwide home care allowance existed for parents who did not use public child care for children aged one or two years. After 2015, home care allowances continued to exist in several German federal states. Some politicians strongly criticized this transfer for allegedly decreasing work incentives, particularly for mothers with lower labor market integration, such as immigrant mothers. Using federal state differentiated data obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we investigate the impact of a home care allowance on the labor market participation of mothers. For both native-born and especially immigrant mothers, the effects are significantly negative. We conclude that a home care allowance has negative effects on the labor force participation of mothers of young children, irrespective of the legal claim for and the extension of public child care.

Back to work or stay at home? Family policies and maternal employment in Finland

The employment effects of family policies depend on the mother’s labor market attachment and on the age of the child. We study the effects of child home care (cash-for-care) and private day care allowances on mothers’ return to employment after childbirth. Our identification strategy exploits changes in municipal-level subsidies. We find that higher private day care allowances have no effect while higher home care allowances increase the length of home care. A 100-euro higher level of home care allowance prolongs home care by 2–3 months, on average. The home care allowance combined with low labor market attachment and low earnings potential pre-birth delay the return to employment. However, the effect of the allowance diminishes over time. Higher subsidies have no impact by the time a child turns two. Reductions in subsidies stimulate a faster return to employment.

양육수당의 제도적 정합성 분석: 한국과 독일의 양육수당정책 비교를 중심으로

본 논문은 어떤 특정한 정책이 외형상 유사하더라도, 그 정책이 자리하고 있는 사회정책들과의 관계에 의하여 결이 다른 사회제도로 자리매김 할 수 있다는 점에 주목한다. 본 논문은 주로 서비스 중심의 정책을 강조해 왔던 한국에서 양육수당이 급속히 확대되는 과정과 현금급여 중심의 정책을 선호해 왔던 독일에서 양육수당이 거의 도입과 동시에 철회되어가는 과정을 다른 아동양육정책들과의 제도적 정합성의 관점에서 비교분석하였다. 연구결과, 한국의 양육수당은 2005년 저출산고령사회 기본계획 이후 대대적인 예산투자 확대에도 불구하고 해소되지 않았던 안심하고 믿을 만한 보육서비스 부족을 대신하는 대체재이자, 제한된 육아휴직 수급자 범위와 낮은 소득대체율에 의한 실질적인 휴직제도 공백을 메우는 대체재로써 아동수당과 같은 현금급여 부재를 보완한다는 구조적 맥락 속에서 정책적 확대를 이루었다. 반면, 독일의 양육수당은 2000년대 이후 부상하기 시작한 보육서비스 확대와 부모시간 및 부모수당 제도 정착과 같은 제도들의 부정합을 유발하는 위험재적 정책으로 수용되면서 폐지의 수순을 밟았다. 결론에서는 한국사회가 양육수당 개편과 관련해서 향후 더 깊이 있게 고민해야 할 의제들을 제안하였다.

The Significance of Home Care Allowance for Infants and Young Children : Case of 6 Small Municipalities in Tottori Prefecture

The Significance of Home Care Allowance for Infants and Young Children : Case of 6 Small Municipalities in Tottori Prefecture

Long-Term Educational Outcomes of Child Care Arrangements in Finland

This study asks how Finnish 6-year-olds who stay at home before school start compare in educational outcomes with children who attend public day care. Earlier studies have shown that participation in public day care can enhance school performance especially among disadvantaged children. In Finland, the child home care allowance scheme supports the home care of 6-year-olds if they have a younger sibling under the age of 3 who is also not attending public day care. We used as outcome variables grade point average after compulsory school at age 15 to 16 and dichotomous variable measuring completion of further education by age 25. The study utilized data of the birth cohort 1987 ( N = 4,928). The results show that staying at home before school start is associated with poorer school performance but not with completion of further education.

Freedom of choice, gender equality, or employment promotion? Finnish party positions on childcare in the light of election manifestos 2015

The principle of freedom of choice in childcare matters has been a central element of Finnish family policy since the 1980s and is something that makes the country unique in an international comparison. One the one hand, this principle has been manifested as a legislated right for parents, notably mothers, to choose paid work supported by the use of public childcare. On the other hand, it has also given parents with children under three the right to stay at home with their children and to receive a child home care allowance during this period. This dualism has been widely popular among parents and has also been seen by most leading parties as something that is good for families. However, since the outbreak of the international financial crisis, this system has faced increasing criticism from some experts and politicians, which has made the principle of freedom of choice, and especially the child home care allowance/leave, susceptible to renegotiation. This article investigates how the principle of freedom of choice was politicized by eight leading parties during the Finnish parliamentary election campaign in 2015, through an analysis of election manifestos. First, we analyse to what extent this principle was politicized, and by whom. Secondly, we study how the principle was framed. The findings show that the principle of freedom of choice was a rather politicized topic, creating a cleavage between conservative and leftist/liberal parties. Moreover, they indicate a renegotiation of this principle in favour of higher parental employment promotion and gender equality.

Child Home Care Allowance and the Transition to Second- and Third-Order Births in Finland

Using register data from the Finnish Census Panel, this paper studies the relationship between the use of the child home care allowance and second and third births among women aged 20–44 in Finland during the period 1992–2007. Discrete-time event-history analysis is applied to examine (i) whether women taking up the child home care allowance while their previous child was under the age of 3 have a higher risk to proceed to subsequent childbearing, (ii) whether these women proceed to a further birth more quickly, and (iii) whether the risk to proceed to a subsequent birth is related to educational level. The results show that women using the allowance have a higher risk of having a second and a third birth than women not using it. The risk of having a second birth is higher than that of having a third birth. Also, women using the allowance get their subsequent child sooner than women not using the allowance. No large educational differences in the effect of allowance use are found for second or third births.

To Work or Not to Work? The Effect of Childcare Subsidies on the Labour Supply of Parents

Abstract This paper studies the effect of childcare subsidies on parental labour supply. I use variation arising from changes in the municipality-specific supplement to Finnish child homecare allowance to identify the causal effect of subsidies on the labour force participation of parents. The variation in labour supply incentives is plausibly exogenous, since eligibility depends on municipal-level rules, but not on family income. Robustness checks indicate that the results are not driven by policy endogeneity or residential sorting. I find a robust result that 100 euros higher supplement per month reduces the maternal labour supply by 3 percentage points.

To Work or Not to Work? The Effect of Child-Care Subsidies on the Labour Supply of Parents

This paper studies the effect of child-care subsidies on parental labour supply. I use variation arising from changes in the municipality-specific supplement to Finnish child homecare allowance to identify the causal effect of subsidies on the labour force participation of parents. The variation in labour supply incentives is plausibly exogenous, since eligibility depends on municipal-level rules, but not on family income. Robustness checks indicate that the results are not driven by policy endogeneity or residential sorting. I find a robust result that 100 euros higher supplement per month reduces the maternal labour supply by 3 per cent.

To Work or Not to Work? The Effect of Child-Care Subsidies on the Labour Supply of Parents

This paper studies the effect of child-care subsidies on maternal labour supply. In the Finnish child-care system, parents taking care of their children at home receive a relatively generous home-care allowance. I use variation arising from changes in the municipality-specific supplement to this allowance to identify the causal effect of subsidies on the labour force participation of parents. A municipal supplement creates plausibly exogenous variation in subsidies, since the opportunity to take them up depends on municipal-level rules, but not on changes in individual labour supply decisions. Moreover, a supplement policy affects labour supply in a transparent way since the amount of supplement one is eligible for does not depend on income. Robustness checks indicate that the results are not driven by policy endogeneity or residential sorting. I find a large negative effect on the labour force participation and income of mothers. 100 euros higher supplement per month reduces the maternal labour supply by 3 per cent. The estimated effect is larger for higher-educated than for medium-educated mothers.

Dismissed intergenerational support? New social risks and the economic welfare of young adults

This paper concerns the declining role of the welfare state in supporting young adults. The literature on new social risks concentrates on the incapacity of institutions to respond to a new social situation, and has so far largely neglected the capacity of alternative systems or institutions to fill the vacuum created. The focus in the paper is on the situation of young adults in a Nordic welfare state, in which social security benefits have developed unfavourable. Perusal of Finnish data on welfare-state programmes and financial transfers across generations, and of the literature on new social risks, reveal that young adults living on the basic level of social security, such as basic unemployment benefit, a student grant or child home-care allowance, are in a particularly vulnerable economic position. On a more detailed level, the article shows that the proportion of people receiving financial support from their parents has been increasing at the same time as the welfare state's ability to provide support has been diminishing. The overall conclusion is that there is an invisible compensatory mechanism offsetting the economic vulnerability of many young adults.

Swedish Family Policy – Continuity and Change in the Nordic Welfare State Model

AbstractThe main question addressed in this regional issue is whether or not the Nordic welfare states can still be considered a distinct welfare regime cluster given recent changes, such as the introduction of more private elements into the welfare state. The Nordic welfare states are often described as emphasizing full employment, economic and gender equality, and universal access to cradle‐to‐grave welfare state benefits and services. In the case of Sweden, often pointed to as the model of a social democratic welfare state, such elements remain intact in most aspects of the welfare state, even given the challenges presented by the global neo‐liberal economic paradigm since the 1970s. One way to determine whether or not the Nordic welfare states remain a distinct cluster is to provide an in‐depth examination of various welfare state policies in each Nordic country. To contribute to this analysis, an investigation of family policy in the Swedish context will be provided. Even given recent challenges, such as the introduction of private for‐profit childcare providers and a home care allowance, I argue that Swedish family policy has remained largely social democratic in its underlying goals, and thus acts to support the case for a distinct Nordic welfare regime cluster.

Patterns of health care use and expenditure during the last 6 months of life in Belgium: Differences between age categories in cancer and non-cancer patients

We analysed end-of-life care in Belgium to examine potential age variation in place of death, transitions between care settings, health care utilisation and public expenditure in the last 6 months of life. Administrative data of one sickness fund were used, and analysed through regression analysis and analysis of variance. The study population comprised 40,794 individuals (age>40 years). Several indicators showed that the end-of-life of older people, especially of those aged >or=90 years, differs from that of younger individuals. Older persons more likely died in a care home, were less transferred between care settings, and stayed less days in hospital. On the other hand, older persons used more home care services, and had more contacts with the general practitioner. Differences between age categories were equally observed for last week's end-of-life care. Opposite to the trend for cancer patients, the odds of having a palliative home care allowance increased with age for non-cancer patients. Public expenditure for the oldest old was lower as compared to the younger decedents, but dependent on place of death. Several aspects of end-of-life care in Belgium appear to be influenced by age. In view of ageing of the population, these findings can be of interest to decision makers.

Families, Work and Home Care: Assessing the Finnish child home care allowance

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A discrete choice model for labor supply and childcare

A discrete choice model for labor supply and childcare for mothers of preschoolers is presented. The mothers are assumed to make choices from a finite set of job possibilities and from a finite set of childcare options. Options in the markets for childcare are characterized by opening hours, fees and quality attributes. Similarly, jobs are characterized by a fixed wage rate, working hours and a number of variables related to job satisfaction. In the estimation of the model, we take into account that the number of options available might vary across work/care combinations and that some mothers are rationed in the market for care at day care centers. The model is employed to simulate the female labor supply effects of the Norwegian home care allowance reform.

Women's Labor Force Attachment and Childbearing in Finland

This paper analyzes the impact of women’s economic activity, earnings and take-up of child home care allowance on childbearing, using a ten percent sample from a longitudinal register data set that covers the entire female population of reproductive age in Finland in 1988–2000. Results show that a woman’s economic activity and income were positively correlated with entry into motherhood and to a lesser extent with having a second child. This supports the notion of a common pattern of this relationship in the Nordic countries. In the light of Finland’s rollercoaster economic development in the 1990s, the effects of a change in female population composition by economic characteristics on the fertility trend were small.