IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp8976.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Improving the Allocation of Spots in Child Care Facilities for Toddlers in Germany: A Mechanism Design Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Carlsson, Sissa

    (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover)

  • Thomsen, Stephan L.

    (Leibniz University of Hannover)

Abstract

The undersupply of spots in German daycare facilities for toddlers challenges parents' possibilities to work. To ease the situation, the government implemented a new law entitling every child between ages one and three to daycare supervision for about four hours per day. Nevertheless, the stressed situation of matching demand and supply does not only result from limited spaces but also from inefficient allocation. By means of simulations under different scenarios, we contrast a stylized version of decentralized allocation to a centralized allocation mechanism which applies a deferred-acceptance algorithm. This centralized system results in better and faster matches.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlsson, Sissa & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2015. "Improving the Allocation of Spots in Child Care Facilities for Toddlers in Germany: A Mechanism Design Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 8976, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8976
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp8976.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian, 2007. "The effect of a large expansion of pre-primary school facilities on preschool attendance and maternal employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 665-680, June.
    2. Goux, Dominique & Maurin, Eric, 2010. "Public school availability for two-year olds and mothers' labour supply," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 951-962, December.
    3. Felfe, Christina & Lalive, Rafael, 2012. "Early Child Care and Child Development: For Whom it Works and Why," IZA Discussion Papers 7100, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Pereyra, Juan Sebastián, 2013. "A dynamic school choice model," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 100-114.
    5. James J. Heckman & Dimitriy V. Masterov, 2007. "The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(3), pages 446-493.
    6. Braun Sebastian & Dwenger Nadja & Kübler Dorothea, 2010. "Telling the Truth May Not Pay Off: An Empirical Study of Centralized University Admissions in Germany," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-38, March.
    7. Haan, Peter & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2011. "Can child care policy encourage employment and fertility?: Evidence from a structural model," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 498-512, August.
    8. Morimitsu Kurino, 2014. "House Allocation with Overlapping Generations," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 258-289, February.
    9. Christoph Badelt and & Peter Weiss, 1990. "Specialization, Product Differentiation and Ownership Structure in Personal Social Services: The Case of Nursery Schools," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 69-89, January.
    10. Gabriela Schütz & Heinrich W. Ursprung & Ludger Wößmann, 2008. "Education Policy and Equality of Opportunity," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 279-308, May.
    11. A. Chevalier & T. K. Viitanen, 2002. "The causality between female labour force participation and the availability of childcare," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(14), pages 915-918.
    12. Sissa Carlsson & Stephan Thomsen, 2014. "Nicht ausgeschöpfte Potenziale in der Kita-Platzvergabe," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 83(1), pages 183-198.
    13. John Kennes Jr. & Daniel Monte Jr. & Norovsambuu Tumennasan Jr., 2014. "The Day Care Assignment: A Dynamic Matching Problem," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 362-406, November.
    14. Roth, Alvin E & Xing, Xiaolin, 1994. "Jumping the Gun: Imperfections and Institutions Related to the Timing of Market Transactions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 992-1044, September.
    15. Clive R Belfield & Milagros Nores & Steve Barnett & Lawrence Schweinhart, 2006. "The High/Scope Perry Preschool Program: Cost–Benefit Analysis Using Data from the Age-40 Followup," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(1).
    16. Alvin E. Roth, 1982. "The Economics of Matching: Stability and Incentives," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 7(4), pages 617-628, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 16/2021, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    2. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    3. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Information about inequality in early child care reduces polarization in policy preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    4. Nadja Stroh-Maraun, 2020. "Pareto Efficiency in Weighted School Choice Problems," Working Papers Dissertations 64, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    5. Malte Sandner & Stephan L. Thomsen & Libertad González Luna, 2020. "Preventing child maltreatment: Beneficial side effects of public childcare provision," Economics Working Papers 1744, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    6. Britta Hoyer & Nadja Stroh-Maraun, 2020. "Stability in Weighted College Admissions Problems," Working Papers Dissertations 63, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.

    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. Dimakopoulos, Philipp D. & Heller, C.-Philipp, 2019. "Matching with waiting times: The German entry-level labor market for lawyers," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 289-313.
    2. Müller, Kai-Uwe & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2020. "Does subsidized care for toddlers increase maternal labor supply? Evidence from a large-scale expansion of early childcare," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    3. Reischmann, Tobias & Klein, Thilo & Giegerich, Sven, 2021. "An iterative deferred acceptance mechanism for decentralized, fast and fair childcare assignment," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-095, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Christina Felfe & Martin Huber, 2017. "Does preschool boost the development of minority children?: the case of Roma children," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 180(2), pages 475-502, February.
    5. Dimakopoulos, Philipp D. & Heller, C.-Philipp, 2018. "Matching with Waiting Times: The German Entry-Level Labor Market for Lawyers," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 68, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    6. Dimakopoulos, Philipp D. & Heller, C.-Philipp, 2015. "Matching with Waiting Times: The German Entry-Level Labour Market for Lawyers," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113153, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Tobias Reischmann & Thilo Klein & Sven Giegerich, 2021. "A deferred acceptance mechanism for decentralized, fast, and fair childcare assignment," The Journal of Mechanism and Institution Design, Society for the Promotion of Mechanism and Institution Design, University of York, vol. 6(1), pages 59-100, December.
    8. Afacan, Mustafa Oǧuz, 2024. "Non-vetoed matching with status quo," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    9. Eric Schuss & Mohammed Azaouagh, 2021. "Combining parenthood and work: transmission channels and heterogeneous returns to early public childcare," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 641-676, September.
    10. Martina Querejeta Rabosto & Estefanía Galván & Cecilia Parada & Soledad Salvador, 2021. "Gender Gaps and Family Policies in Latin America," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4509, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    11. Francesca Carta, 2019. "Female labour supply in Italy: the role of parental leave and child care policies," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 539, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    12. Kadam, Sangram V. & Kotowski, Maciej H., 2018. "Time horizons, lattice structures, and welfare in multi-period matching markets," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1-20.
    13. Carta, Francesca & Rizzica, Lucia, 2018. "Early kindergarten, maternal labor supply and children's outcomes: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 79-102.
    14. John Kennes & Daniel Monte & Norovsambuu Tumennasan, 2015. "Dynamic Matching Markets and the Deferred Acceptance Mechanism," Economics Working Papers 2015-23, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    15. Laura Ravazzini, 2018. "Childcare and maternal part-time employment: a natural experiment using Swiss cantons," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 154(1), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Philipp D. Dimakopoulos & Christian-Philipp Heller, "undated". "Matching with Waiting Times: The German Entry-Level Labour Market for Lawyers," BDPEMS Working Papers 2014005, Berlin School of Economics.
    17. Kotowski, Maciej H., 2015. "A Note on Stability in One-to-One, Multi-period Matching Markets," Working Paper Series rwp15-042, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    18. Anno, Hidekazu & Kurino, Morimitsu, 2016. "On the operation of multiple matching markets," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 166-185.
    19. Busse, Anna & Gathmann, Christina, 2020. "Free daycare policies, family choices and child development," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 240-260.
    20. Donn Feir & Jasmin Thomas, 2017. "The Impact of Introducing Formal Childcare Services on Labour Force Participation in Inuit Nunangat," Department Discussion Papers 1702, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    allocation mechanism; deferred-acceptance algorithm; early education; child care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp8976. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.