Overview

Abstract (English)

Although an increasing body of research promotes the development of universal early education and care programs, little is known about the extent to which these programs affect gender gaps in academic achievement and other developmental outcomes. Analyzing the introduction of universal highly-subsidized child care in Quebec, we first demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in policy impacts across genders that are robust to controlling for changes in the composition of children who attended child care. In general, boys are worse off in a variety of behavioral dimensions, ranging from anxiety to hyperactivity and inattention. The new child care program also led to less consistent parenting and lower-quality parental relationships in households with boys. Additionally, our analysis reveals significant evidence of differential parenting practices by gender in response to the introduction of the policy, many of which are invariant to maternal labour supply. This suggests that the availability of subsidized child care changed home environments disproportionately, and may be responsible for the growing gender gaps in behavioral outcomes observed after child care is subsidized.

Abstract (French)

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