Examining Childcare Choices and Their Causal Impact on School Readiness Among Children of Immigrants

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-5 - Starting Out Right: The Impacts of Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Using nationally representative datasets, I conduct multinomial propensity score matching analyses to study how the demand for and supply of childcare alternatives affect childcare choice among immigrant families, and the causal impact it has on children's kindergarten readiness. Initial results suggest that living in a community with higher immigrant density is likely to decrease the use of any formal childcare arrangement. The distance to a Head Start center is positively associated with higher probability of program enrollment among immigrant families, but less evident for state pre-K enrollment. After controlling for selection issues, center-based care is still positively associated with reading and math skills for children of immigrants. This is particularly true for children from low-income families regardless of immigration status.

Author

• Qi Xing, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill