Frühkindliche Bildung und Betreuung in Tageseinrichtungen als Staatsaufgabe / The Governmental Provision of Early Childhood Education and Care

In this article it is argued that the extension of early childhood education and care, as currently pursued by both the German federal government and the federal states, cannot be justified by standard economic criteria of government action. Some recent results of empirical research indicate that early child care carries both benefits and risks for infants and toddlers. In addition, potential external gains for society as a whole, especially for parents, are not large enough to justify federal state involvement in child care provision. Finally, early childhood education programs may be expected to fail to improve the situation of children in economically disadvantaged families. Taking into account the incentives provided society might experience welfare loss rather than gain.