Childcare Markets: Can They Deliver an Equitable Service?

The viability, quality, and sustainability of early childhood education and services is a lively issue in many countries, especially as fair access to quality programs is beset by increasing gaps in family income. Drawing on research from eight countries where child care is deployed via open markets—including the US and Canada—the editors present comparisons of child care services and the regulatory processes that guide them across a large political and economic spectrum. Including contributions from economists, policy specialists, and educators, this book addresses serious questions as to what constraints need to be in place if child care providers are to deliver equitable service.

Eva Lloyd is a reader in early childhood at the University of East London and codirector of the International Centre for the Study of Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC). She is the author or editor of, or a contributor to, several books, including Poverty and social exclusion in Britain, also published by the Policy Press. Helen Penn is professor of early childhood at the University of East London and also codirector of the ICMEC. She is the author of several books, most recently, Quality in Services to Young Children.