Social investment and women’s employment: the effectiveness of childcare services

Abstract

The study examines “Social investment and female employment: the effectiveness of childcare services”, reconstructing the problem and the main evidence developed in the text. This note represents a preliminary empirical analysis of how investment in childcare services can support female inclusion in the labour market. Unfortunately the program did not reach the results hoped: in 2013 in the Mezzogiorno only Abruzzo, Puglia and Campania had equalized or exceeded the target. In fact, the coefficient of the SERVICES_INFANZIA variable is significantly positive in equations (1) and (3) concerning the rate of female activity (α 2 ) and the rate of female employment (γ 2 ). Childcare services can be interpreted as “converting factors” i.e., reducing the time spent on child care, they allow women to “convert” their knowledge, skills, skills in concrete opportunities of work, with a positive impact on their well-being, not only economic. This last result shows how, at the same level, the female marginalization in the labour market is also determined by the lack of support for women in care activities, almost exclusively demanded to them.

Keywords

labour market; female employment; social investment; Local authorities; Half-day; poverty and inequalities

JEL codes

J21; I38; J16