DC Accepted Papers Paper:
Can Childcare Centers Trigger Alleviating Poverty? Evidence from an Ex-Post Experimental Evaluation Study in Nepal
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
In Nepal, women’s economic engagement is constrained by their unpaid care work responsibilities, especially childcare. Although pre-primary education and care facilities are increasingly available in rural communities in Nepal, there are no childcare facilities available for children between 6-36 months. Using a secondary data of ex-post experimental evaluation nature, I evaluated the impact of childcare facilities (available for children between age 6-36 months) on their mothers’ hours of economic engagement and its returns socio-economic returns. The study results infer that childcare centers contribute to significant increase in women’s hours of engagement in income generating activities, thus, adding additional income to the family. I also examined the costs to operate a childcare center to find out three folds returns of the investment. The size of financial returns could enable impecunious family to advance from their current poverty status. The paper offers useful policy preferences for developing countries facing alike issues.
