Inequalities in Spatial Accessibility of Childcare

The Role of Non-profit Providers

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2116136
AutoresAstrid Pennerstorfer (0000-0001-8975-6258, Vienna University of Economics and Business), Dieter Pennerstorfer (0000-0002-6191-4397, Johannes Kepler University of Linz)
Año2021
Volumen50
Número1
Páginas122-147
Fecha de publicación2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0047-2794 • E-ISSN: 1469-7823
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0047279419000990
OpenAlexW2999157584
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas17
Referencias citadas34

Equal access to childcare services is a key concern of childcare policy. This article analyses social inequalities in the availability of such services. We explore how observed disparities are related to the socio-economic status of neighbourhoods and investigate how different provider types contribute to such differences. To do so, we use data on all childcare centres in the city of Vienna, Austria, on the spatial distribution of children aged under six and on three measures of neighbourhood status, over a period of eight years. We find that spatial accessibility is highest in neighbourhoods with the highest socio-economic status, that such inequality has increased over time and that both effects can be attributed to the role of non-profits. The results indicate that the policy change undertaken in Vienna towards increased communitarisation - that is, a shift towards non-profit provision - has undermined the universal character of the city's childcare system

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Inequality · Neighbourhood (mathematics) · Profit (economics) · Public economics · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Spatial inequality · Rural development and sustainability · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Work-Family Balance Challenges