The financial support for the care of children : the effects on the work of women, the income of families and the public finances

Public funding of child care (CC) features prominently in the achievement of several social objectives in Quebec and across Canada. This article provides evidence on the impact of three main measures of public CC funding in Quebec (the provincial tax credit, the federal income tax deduction, and the direct subsidies to early childhood centers) on family income, female labor market participation and provincial and federal public finances. Unlike the existing Canadian literature, this impact is estimated using a structural model of labor supply that explicitly incorporates the work/leisure preferences of families. This model also takes into account the provincial and federal tax and transfer system, the effect of fixed costs to working, the variability of the costs of CC, and the distribution of the socio-demographic characteristics of Quebec families. Public CC funding increases family income significantly (after taxes, transfers and CC expenses); it also has a greater impact on incomes and female labor market participation for single mothers than for biparental families. Cuts in public CC funding would result in substantial savings for the provincial government but would have little impact on the federal government.