Non-cognitive child outcomes and universal high quality child care

Exploiting a rich panel data child survey merged with administrative records along with a pseudo-experiment generating variation in the take-up of preschool across municipalities, we provide evidence of the effects on non-cognitive child outcomes of participating in large scale publicly provided universal preschool programs and family day care vis-à-vis home care. We find that, compared to home care, being enrolled in preschool at age three does not lead to significant differences in child outcomes at age seven no matter the gender or the mother's level of education. Family day care, on the other hand, seems to significantly deteriorate outcomes for boys whose mothers have a lower level of education. Finally, longer hours in non-parental care lead to poorer child outcomes.