Investing in childcare pays: 1 Euro invested generates 3 Euros
A Swiss study shows that money invested in pre-school childcare generates up to three times more money for the community, and even pays itself back to the Government through increased revenues and fewer welfare payments!
The most direct economic benefits of childcare are:
- It frees parents – especially women – to enter paid employment – and earn more for the family income;
- It provides jobs and skills for childcare workers;
- The wages earned by parents and childcare workers mean more tax and social contributions for the state and less welfare benefits paid out.
The study, by the “Conférence Latine des Délégués à l’Egalité”, shows that everyone benefits economically: parents, workers, the community, businesses that want to recruit, and the state. It’s a highly profitable investment. So much so that failure to invest is a wasted opportunity.
The study provides a powerful case for arguing that pre-school childcare can be justified on economic grounds alone, although of course its educational benefits are widely appreciated. It is also increasingly seen as a way of promoting early language learning to assist the integration of all children into the local community.
