Gustafsson S S, Stafford F P
Department of Economics, University of Amsterdam.
Future Child. 1995 Winter;5(3):161-74.
Early childhood programs are usually viewed as a service that promotes children's development. In addition, these programs often serve a broader purpose of enabling mothers with young children to join the paid labor force. Therefore, government policies relating to the provision and use of child care programs reflect such economic and social factors as the demand for women workers in the labor market; expectations of the relationship among government, family, and the private market; and the value placed on maintaining traditional family structures with a breadwinner, a homemaker, and children. This article examines the evolution of policies toward maternal employment and child care provision in the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands--three countries that differ sharply in the extent of government involvement in child and family policy, and in the emphasis government leaders place on promoting or discouraging maternal employment. This analysis shows that child care policy is best viewed as but one element among many that make it more or less likely that mothers of young children will be employed and will need to rely on early childhood programs to care for their youngsters. The design of tax codes, labor laws, parental leave policies, and cash assistance programs combines with child care policies to shape women's choices about employment.
幼儿教育项目通常被视为一种促进儿童发展的服务。此外，这些项目往往还有一个更广泛的目的，即让有幼儿的母亲能够加入有偿劳动力大军。因此，与儿童保育项目的提供和使用相关的政府政策反映了诸多经济和社会因素，比如劳动力市场对女工的需求；对政府、家庭和私人市场之间关系的期望；以及对维持传统家庭结构（有挣钱养家的人、家庭主妇和孩子）的重视程度。本文考察了美国、瑞典和荷兰三国在孕产妇就业和儿童保育政策方面的演变——这三个国家在政府对儿童和家庭政策的干预程度，以及政府领导人对促进或抑制孕产妇就业的重视程度上存在显著差异。这一分析表明，儿童保育政策最好被视为众多因素之一，这些因素或多或少地影响着幼儿母亲是否会就业以及是否需要依靠幼儿教育项目来照顾孩子。税法、劳动法、育儿假政策和现金援助项目的设计与儿童保育政策相结合，共同塑造了女性在就业方面的选择。
