IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rrs/journl/v18y2024i1p38-66.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

National welfare implications of regional childcare policy: A theoretical approach

Author

Listed:
  • Hiroyuki Hashimoto

    (University of Hyogo, Japan)

  • Tohru Naito

    (Doshisha University, Japan)

Abstract

This study examines the effects of regional childcare policy on regional and total fertility, interregional migration, capital accumulation, and welfare. The study utilizes an overlapping generations model with endogenous fertility and two asymmetric regions; one region has children who do not have access to childcare facilities, whereas the other region does not. In this setting, Hashimoto and Naito (2023) showed that a regional childcare policy can increase both regional and total fertility. However, they did not refer to welfare effects. As the government's ultimate objective is to maximize or improve social welfare, it need not necessarily focus on overcoming declining fertility rates. Therefore, this study explores whether the childcare support policy of Hashimoto and Naito (2023) has improved the social welfare of the economy. Under a plausible rate of labor income share, the childcare support policy raises consumption owing to a decrease in capital accumulation. Thus, childcare support policy increases social welfare when the fertility rate rises or is unaffected, and it does not necessarily increase social welfare if it causes a decline in the fertility rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroyuki Hashimoto & Tohru Naito, 2024. "National welfare implications of regional childcare policy: A theoretical approach," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 18(1), pages 38-66, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:rrs:journl:v:18:y:2024:i:1:p:38-66
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://rjrs.ase.ro/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2-Hashimoto_Naito.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Koka, Katerina & Rapallini, Chiara, 2023. "Italy’s demographic trap: Voting for childcare subsidies and fertility outcomes," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Hiroshi Goto & Keiya Minamimura, 2019. "Geography and Demography: New Economic Geography with Endogenous Fertility," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 537-568, December.
    3. Vicente Díaz Gandasegui & Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel & Maria T. Sanz, 2021. "Back to the Future: a Sensitivity Analysis to Predict Future Fertility Rates Considering the Influence of Family Policies—The Cases of Spain and Norway," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 943-968, April.
    4. Hiroshi Goto & Keiya Minamimura, 2019. "Geography and Demography: New Economic Geography With Endogenous Fertility," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 70(4), pages 537-568, December.
    5. Tohru Naito & Tatsuya Omori, 2017. "Aging And Urban Agglomeration Under A Multi-Regional Overlapping Generations Model," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 135-150, July.
    6. Mizuki Kawabata, 2014. "CHILDCARE ACCESS AND EMPLOYMENT: THE CASE OF WOMEN WITH PRESCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN TOKYO[“Re-use of]," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 40-56, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hiroyuki Hashimoto & Tohru Naito, 2021. "Urbanization, waitlisted children, and childcare support in a two‐region overlapping generations model," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 1068-1089, June.
    2. Madoka Muroishi & Akira Yakita, 2021. "Agglomeration economies, congestion diseconomies, and fertility dynamics in a two-region economy," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 51-63, April.
    3. Takahashi, Takaaki, 2022. "On the economic geography of an aging society," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Solmaria Halleck Vega & Antoine Mandel, 2017. "A network-based approach to technology transfers in the context of climate policy," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17009, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    5. Kawabata, Mizuki & Abe, Yukiko, 2018. "Intra-metropolitan spatial patterns of female labor force participation and commute times in Tokyo," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 291-303.
    6. Hippolyte d’ALBIS & Paula E. GOBBI & Angela GREULICH, 2017. "Having a Second Child and Access to Childcare : Evidence from European Countries," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(2), pages 177-210, June.
    7. Xiaotian Zhang & Xiaoyun Liu & Yang Wang & Lulin Zhou & Xiaoran Cheng, 2022. "Sustainable Development of China’s Maternity Insurance System in the Context of Population Policy Changes: Using a Grounded Theory Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    8. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. Hu, Yujie & Sherlock, Phillip & Huang, Jing & Knopf, Herman T. & Hall, Jaclyn M., 2024. "Unveiling spatial mismatch in childcare supply and demand: An excess commuting analysis of home-to-childcare distance in subsidized families," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Yasunori Okumura, 2019. "School Choice with General Constraints: A Market Design Approach for the Nursery School Waiting List Problem in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 70(4), pages 497-516, December.
    11. Blumenberg, Evelyn & Wander, Madeline & Yao, Zhiyuan, 2024. "Decisions & distance: The relationship between child care access and child care travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    12. Mizuki Kawabata & Yukiko Abe, 2016. "Spatial dimensions of intra-metropolitan disparities in commuting time and female labor force participation," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2016-024, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    13. Lo, Ashley Wan-Tzu & Kono, Tatsuhito, 2023. "Measuring the Gender Differences in Value of Time by Household Life Stage: An Intertemporal Analysis based on Japan Household Panel Survey," MPRA Paper 116111, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Sayaka Yakita, 2019. "Fertility, child care policy, urbanization, and economic growth," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 51-62, April.
    15. Tohru Naito & Daisuke Ikazaki & Tatsuya Omori, 2017. "Precautionary public health, ageing and urban agglomeration," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 655-669, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    childcare policy; welfare; fertility; overlapping generations model; capital accumulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rrs:journl:v:18:y:2024:i:1:p:38-66. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bogdan-Vasile Ileanu (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.