Preschool Enrolment, Mothers’ Participation in the Labour Market,
and Children’s Subsequent Outcomes
Dominique Goux (DARES) et Eric Maurin (PSE)
August 2008
Abstract:
French children start public school either the year they turn two or the year they...
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Preschool Enrolment, Mothers’ Participation in the Labour Market,
and Children’s Subsequent Outcomes
Dominique Goux (DARES) et Eric Maurin (PSE)
August 2008
Abstract:
French children start public school either the year they turn two or the year they turn three. We provide the first comprehensive evaluation of this unique early schooling policy. Using discontinuities in enrolment rates generated by eligibility rules, we show that pre-elementary school availability has a significant employment effect on lone mothers, but no effect on two-parent families. Also, we show that substituting one year of pre-elementary school for one year of alternative modes of childcare has no significant effect on two year olds’ subsequent educational outcomes. Overall, pre-elementary school is shown to be more cost-effective than existing alternative modes of childcare for two-year olds in France.
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