Source: CORNELL UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
LINKING CHILD CARE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Sponsoring Institution
State Agricultural Experiment Station
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0206164
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2005
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2009
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
ITHACA,NY 14853
Performing Department
DEVELOPMENT SOCIOLOGY
Non Technical Summary
Child care forms part of the social infrastructure for economic development. This project identifies ways to include child care in economic development planning.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6096010301030%
6096110301030%
8056050308040%
Goals / Objectives
The objectives of this research are to better assess the contributions of care work, both paid and unpaid, to the regional economy. Much economic analysis is limited to the formal, paid aspects of the regional economy. This work seeks to link both formal paid and unpaid aspects of care work in a model of the regional economy that more accurately incorporates households as production and consumption units in the economy. A second objective is to identify and explore policy alternatives which can strengthen the child care sector and address the many challenges it faces as an underdeveloped market sector. These policies include initiatives by government at the federal, state and local levels, and by private sector employers.
Project Methods
Regional economic analysis techniques are used to study the regional impact of the child care sector. Policy analysis is used to track policy choices at the state and local level and their effects in addressing the market challenges of the child care sector. New methods which link parent, child and regional effects are being explored. We also are designing techniques that include both the formal market, paid aspects of the sector as well as those parts of the care economy in the unpaid household sector.

Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Child care forms a critical social infrastructure for economic development. We use an ecological framework that puts children in the context of families, communities, and the regional economy. Linking economic development and child care requires attention to both the structure of the child care sector and of the regional economy. We published a special issue of International Journal of Economic Development looking at the role of child care on parent labor force participation, increases in child care supply as a result of subsidies in poor minority communities, role of an economic development approach in framing policy in Texas and in Canada, and new approaches to measuring the value of non market household care. This last paper was also presented at the International Time Use Conference in Australia in November 2008. We organized a workshop for project participants - community groups working with planners, economic developers and local government officials from across the nation - in May 2008. The importance of child care as a social infrastructure for economic development is now being widely recognized by planners, economic developers and government policy makers. Local and state level interest in these approaches has been strong in the past, but in 2008, national interest began to grow with new collaborations with the American Planning Association and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. We designed a national survey of the role planners play in creating family friendly cities with the American Planning Association in Spring 2008. We advised the Joint Economic Committee on ways to include child care in the infrastructure stimulus package. Important conceptual barriers remain. Economic development and planning practice, as well as the economic theory that guides it, is biased toward physical infrastructure. Leaders in these fields assume the social infrastructure of child care is self generating or outside their responsibility. The fact that child care has its roots in the unpaid household economy makes it even less visible to market economists, and more fragile. Although US policy still does not take a comprehensive approach, our project is broadening perspectives. Our research is challenging barriers at the conceptual/intellectual level and demonstrating new methodologies to address household care, our venture grants promote innovation in policy and program design, and our publications and speakers bureau help get the message out to a broad audience. In 2008 we: Edited a special issue of the International Journal of Economic Development on childcare (which they back dated to 2007); Wrote a Planning Advisory Service Memo for the American Planning Association on Planning for Family Friendly Cities; Presented at the International Time Use Conference in Australia on our work on valuing non-market time; Presented at Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the American Planning Association, and the National Smart Start Conference; Supported a study of child care in transit oriented development; and Wrote a report for the Partnership for America's Economic Success on the role of Tax Credits. PARTICIPANTS: Partners in this project include Smart Start National Technical Assistance Center in North Carolina, The Alliance for Early Education Finance in Albany NY, the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Close partnership is also occurring with the American Planning Association TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include state and local economic development, chamber of commerce and business leaders. Child care policy makers and child care resource and referral agencies are another constituency. State and local government leaders and practicing planners are a third constituency. Academic planners and regional economists are another target audience. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Our project addresses the regional economic impact of social infrastructure such as child care. Many economists restrict their interest in early care and education to the human capital impacts on children, ignoring the needs of working parents and of the care sector itself. Our work challenges this narrow view. Our research and publications present a broader perspective that includes children of all ages and puts children in context of families, parents in context of employers and communities, and models child care as part of the broader regional economic system. Our work caught the attention of staff at the Joint Economic Committee of Congress who asked us to advise them on how to think in a systems perspective when including child care in the stimulus package Congress was developing to help the nation respond to fiscal crisis. We have helped planners and economic developers begin to see the roles they can play in supporting better systems of early care and education. We worked with the American Planning Association and fielded a national survey on the role planners can play in creating family friendly cities. Results were presented at APA's national conference in Las Vegas in April 2008. APA devoted its November Planning Advisory Service Memo to survey results. Results were also presented at the join American Collegiate Society of Planners/ Association of European Schools of Planning conference in Chicago in July 2008. We have worked closely with a number of states on new policy alternatives - tax credits in Louisiana, transportation and child care in California, and provided follow up support to community groups who received Venture Grants to experiment with new policy approaches to linking child care and economic development.

Publications

  • Israel, Evelyn and Mildred Warner 2008. Planning for Family Friendly Communities, PAS Memo, American Planning Association, Chicago, IL. November 2008. http://www.planning.org/pas/memo/open/nov2008/index.htm
  • LINCC, Linking Investments in Child Care (2008). Building child care into new developments: a guide for creating child care facilities in transit-oriented developments. http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/pdf/lincc_dev_BR_web.pdf
  • Stoney, L and Mitchell, A. 2008 Using Tax Credits to Promote High Quality Early Care and Education Services. Partnership for America's Economic Success. Issue Paper #2 November 20, 2007 http://www.earlychildhoodfinance.org/ArticlesPublications/Tax%20Credi t%20paper--Formatted%20PDF%20in%20color%20from%20PAES.pdf
  • Lim, Youngok, Diane Schilder, Ben Chauncey, 2007. Supporting Parents through Head Start-Child Care Center Partnerships, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 205-238.
  • Pratt, James E., 2007. An Input-Output Approach to Valuing Non-Market Household Time, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 239-268.
  • Prentice, Susan, 2007. Childcare, the Business Case and Economic Development: Canadian Evidence, Opportunities and Challenges, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 269-300.
  • Sabo, Jason, 2007. Commentary: Dancing the Dance of Capitulation: The Economic Development Rationale and the Politics of Kids. International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 301-306.
  • Warner, Mildred E., editor 2007. Child Care and Economic Development, International Journal of Economic Development, Volume 9 Numbers 3 and 4. http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/reports/childcare/ijed.asp
  • Warner, Mildred E., editor 2007. Child Care and Economic Development: Markets, Households and Public Policy, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 111-121.
  • Davis, Elizabeth E., Marcie Jefferys, 2007. Child Care Subsidies, Low-Wage Work and Economic Development, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 122-158.
  • Covington, Kenya, 2007. Evidence of Dynamic Geographic Shifts in Metropolitan Child Care Markets Over the 1990s, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3):159-204.


Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The economic importance of child care is comprised of : a) children's long term cognitive, social and emotional development, b) parents' labor force participation and career paths, family stress levels and quality supports, and c) regional economic impacts as child care forms a critical social infrastructure for economic development We use an ecological framework that puts children in the context of families, families in the context of communities, and communities in the context of the regional economic and policy environment. A paper comparing returns from pre school alone (the current policy enthusiasm) with the broader impacts when a complete ecological view is taken, was published in Applied Development Science this year. Linking economic development and child care requires attention to both the structure of the child care sector and of the regional economy. We published a theoretical critique of regional economic analysis' failure to address the importance of household serving sectors. This work looked at the historical origins of the export service bias and presented an alternative technique, hypothetical extraction, which shows the higher total linkage generated in the regional economy by household serving sectors. This work was published in Growth and Change in September. A paper on the current narrow policy enthusiasm for preschool critiqued it from a feminist perspective and is under final review at the journal Feminist Economics. Important conceptual barriers undermine the ability to articulate the links between child care and economic development. Economic development and planning practice, as well as the economic theory that guides it, is biased toward physical infrastructure. Leaders in these fields assume the social infrastructure of child care is self generating or outside their responsibility. The fact that child care has its roots in the unpaid household economy makes it even less visible to market economists, and more fragile. Unfortunately, most policy does not take this comprehensive approach. That is why we are facing a crisis of care in America. Our project is challenging barriers at the conceptual/intellectual level, at the policy design level, and at the program implementation level. In 2007 we 1)We wrote an article for Planning Magazine, an Issue Brief for Save the Children looking at the special importance of child care as a community infrastructure.2)Hosted a meeting with the Bureau of Economic Analysis to explore ways to bring household care into regional economic models. The new American Time Use Data makes this integration possible for the first time. 3)Organized special sessions on child care and economic development at: the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the American Public Policy Administration and Management conference, the American Planning Association, the national Early Childhood Finance Reform meeting, the National Smart Start Conference, and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. All project publications are available at http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/reports/childcare/ PARTICIPANTS: Partners in this project include Smart Start National Technical Assistance Center in North Carolina, The Alliance for Early Education Finance in Albany NY, the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, and the Kellogg Foundation. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include state and local economic development, chamber of commerce and business leaders. Child care policy makers and child care resource and referral agencies are another constituency. State and local government leaders and planners are a third constituency. Academic planners and regional economists are another target audience.

Impacts
Across the nation economists have begun to give attention to the benefits of prekindergarten initiatives and the link to child brain development. Our research and publications present a broader perspective that includes children of all ages and puts children in context of families, parents in context of employers and communities, and models child care as part of the broader regional economic system. We have helped planners and economic developers begin to see the roles they can play in supporting better systems of early care and education. We worked with Save the Children in Mississippi to help identify ways to measure the impact of child care reconstruction on the region and implications for changes in FEMA policy. We worked with the American Planning Association and hosted a special "imagination session" with planners at APA's national conference in Philadelphia in April. 2007. APA devoted its June issue of the journal Planning to children and our article on child care as critical community infrastructure was the lead article. We have worked closely with a number of states on new policy alternatives - tax credits in Louisiana and South Carolina, and funded a series of Venture Grants to community groups to experiment with new policy approaches to linking child care and economic development.

Publications

  • Morrissey, T. and M.E. Warner 2007. Why Early Care and Education Deserves as Much Attention, or More, than Prekindergarten Alone, Applied Developmental Science, 11(2): 57-70.
  • Kay, D.L., J.E. Pratt and M.E. Warner. 2007. Role of Services in Regional Economy Growth, Growth and Change 38(3):419-442.
  • Warner, M.E. and G. Haddow. 2007. Child Care: An Essential Service for Disaster Recovery, Save the Children Issue Brief #3 June, 2007.
  • Warner, M.E., K. Anderson and G. Haddow. 2007. Putting Child Care in the Picture: Why this service is a critical part of community infrastructure, Planning, (June 2007): 16-19.
  • Warner, M.E. 2007. Planning for Inclusion: The Case of Child Care, Practicing Planner, 5(1) March 2007.


Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06

Outputs
Important conceptual barriers undermine the ability to articulate the links between child care and economic development. Economic development and planning practice, as well as the economic theory that guides it, is biased toward physical infrastructure. Leaders in these fields assume the social infrastructure of child care is self generating or outside their responsibility. The fact that child care has its roots in the unpaid household economy makes it even less visible to market economists, and more fragile. Our project addresses the three part importance of child care: a) to children's long term cognitive, social and emotional development, b) to parents' labor force participation and career paths, family stress levels and quality supports, and c) to society as a critical social infrastructure for economic development and as a sector in itself deserving of economic development attention. We use an ecological framework that puts children in the context of families, families in the context of communities, and communities in the context of the regional economic and policy environment. Unfortunately, most policy does not take this comprehensive approach. Our project is challenging barriers at the conceptual/intellectual level, at the policy design level, and at the program implementation level. In 2006 we published the special issue of the journal, Community Development, devoted to child care (http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/reports/childcare/cds.asp) which was distributed to over 2000 academic and policy leaders. This volume features articles from leading economists, labor and child care leaders. We also published articles in: Economic Development Quarterly and the International Journal of Economic Development that challenge the convention wisdom that child care, as a local service, is not a legitimate target for economic development investment. We wrote a Planning Advisory Service memo that was published and distributed by the American Planning Association to thousands of professional planners nationwide articulating the role they can play in facilitating collaboration between economic development and child care at the local level. We hosted a meeting with the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Steve Landefeld, to explore ways to bring household care into regional economic models. The new American Time Use Data makes this integration possible for the first time. Highlighted Nancy Folbre's work on household labor time at our March workshop and challenged conference attendees to think about the policy implications of household care. We organized special sessions on child care and economic development at: the National Conference of the Community Development Society, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the American Public Policy Administration and Management conference, the American Planning Association, the national Early Childhood Finance Reform meeting, the National Smart Start Conference, and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. All project publications are available at http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/reports/childcare/

Impacts
Across the nation economists have begun to give attention to the benefits of prekindergarten initiatives and the link to child brain development. We have been concerned with this narrow view of the issues and the dangers such a single pronged approach can bring. Our research and publications present a broader perspective that includes children of all ages and puts children in context of families, parents in context of employers and communities, and models child care as part of the broader regional economic system. We have helped planners and economic developers begin to see the roles they can play in supporting better systems of early care and education. We hosted a statewide survey and conference in New York State in Spring 2006 where we profiled successful local applications of planning and economic development policy tools to the child care sector. Our NYS survey showed 83 percent of economic development leaders felt child care should be part of economic development planning. Five years ago this would not have been the case. By promoting economic development investment in child care sector, we redirect attention toward local needs, local providers and long term local social infrastructure. This requires a fundamental paradigm shift but one that is slowly occurring as evidenced by the NYS survey and the increasing interest in these approaches among leaders across the country.

Publications

  • Warner, M.E. ed. 2006. Articulating the Economic Importance of Child Care, Special Issue of Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society 37(2).
  • Warner, M.E. and Liu, Z. 2006. The Importance of Child Care in Economic Development: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Economic Linkage, Economic Development Quarterly 20(1):97-103.
  • Warner, M.E. & Liu, Z. 2005. Regional economic development and local services: The case of child care. International Journal of Economic Development, 7(1):25-64.
  • Warner, M.E. 2006. Child Care and Economic Development: The Role for Planners, PAS Memo, American Planning Association. Jan-Feb 2006.
  • Warner, M.E. 2006. Putting Child Care in the Regional Economy: Empirical and Conceptual Challenges and Economic Development Prospects, Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society 37 (2): 7-22.
  • Stoney, L., A. Mitchell and M.E. Warner. 2006. Smarter Reform: Moving Beyond Single Program Solutions to an Early Care and Education System, Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society 37 (2): 101-115.
  • Pratt, J. and Kay D. 2006. Beyond Looking Backward: Is Child Care a Key Economic Sector? Community Development: The Journal of the Community Development Society 37 (2): 23-37.