Subsidized Daycare: Good for Campaigns, Bad for Children and Taxpayers
In this era of political correctness and white lies, politicos often get away with feel-good initiatives that have proved at best ineffective elsewhere. The Fraser Institute has just released an important study on subsidized daycare in Quebec. In force since 1997, the policy has been unnecessary and expensive, and yet its political appeal remains.
In 2017, the Quebec provincial government spent over $9,000 per child in the program—almost $2.3 billion in total. Meanwhile tens of thousands of children, particularly those from low- and moderate-income households, remain on waiting lists.
Vincent Geloso, author of “Subsidized Daycare—What British Columbia Can Learn from Quebec’s 20-Year Experiment,” explains that the program has failed even in its two alleged strengths. Advocates argue, for example, that subsidized daycare allows mothers to join the labor force sooner, and that their tax contributions offset most of the program’s costs. Pesky data shows that the employment rate has increased more among women above childbearing age than among those supposed to be encouraged to work by the program.
For this reason, plus limited fees from users, the program does not pay for itself. Even in the case of upper-income families, who could easily pay higher fees, childcare services “are still heavily subsidized.”
Advocates also argue that daycare programs are important because they “generally improve cognitive and non-cognitive developmental outcomes for children.” However, studies do not show improvements in cognitive skills, but rather hindrances on non-cognitive ones.
Despite the less than flattering results of the subsidized daycare program, other provinces are seeking to adopt similar policies. During the last provincial election in British Columbia, the winning Liberal Party campaigned on “universal” access to a CAN$10-per-day childcare program. Although its 2018 budget does not include subsidized daycare, the provincial government is already taking the initial actions to adopt a policy that has largely failed before.
Vincent Geloso recommends that British Columbia’s ruling party learn from Quebec’s 20 years of experience: “These realities should be borne in mind whenever any Canadian province is considering following Quebec’s lead on daycare.”
British Columbia can still avoid a policy that could result in significant fiscal costs, the reduced well-being of moderate-income families, and mediocre development of children. Quebec’s subsidized daycare program is a prime example of policies that sound good for political campaigns but are detrimental when implemented.
