Private childcare and employment options: The geography of the return to work for mothers in the Netherlands

Abstract

The Netherlands provides extensive and flexible support for young parents and met the Barcelona targets for childcare provision even before they were set. Yet childcare isn't evenly distributed, and provision is better for some than for others. We use the NKPS to examine childcare availability and its association with maternal employment. To enrich this analysis, respondents are geocoded and this enables them to be linked to the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang en Peuterspeelzalen (Register for Childcare and Toddler Groups; www.landelijkregisterkinderopvang.nl). In linking this data, three often neglected dimensions of childcare provision are captured. First, at the most basic level the geographic proximity of childcare services is captured (i.e. distance to nearest provider). Second, the intensity or availability of choice is measured (i.e. number of providers within 2 kms). Third, the diversity of options is measured (i.e. the ratio of different types of providers).