Daycare Choice and Ethnic Diversity: Evidence from a Randomized Survey

68 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2020 Last revised: 6 Dec 2021

See all articles by Mongoljin Batsaikhan

Mongoljin Batsaikhan

Middlesex University - Economics Department

Mette Gørtz

University of Copenhagen, Department of Economics; IZA

John R. Kennes

VIVE - The Danish Centre of Applied Social Science

Ran Sun Lyng

Aarhus University - Department of Economics and Business Economics

Daniel Monte

Sao Paulo School of Economics - FGV

Norovsambuu Tumennasan

Brown University

Date Written: December 20, 2019

Abstract

We use a randomized survey to study how discrimination affects parenting choices. In our survey, parents with young children choose between two public daycares, which are described by testimonials from other (fictitious) parents. The testifying parents in the first daycare describe a free play institution, which reflects a pro-typical Scandinavian ‘permissive parenting’ approach to childcare. The testifying parents in the second daycare describe a more structured daycare, which reflects an alternative approach to child care that is broadly consistent with ‘paternalistic parenting’. We randomize the fictitious names of the testifying parents across respondents. We find bias against ethnic minorities among parents who prefer a structured child care institution but not among parents who prefer free play one. These biases are not reduced when we provide additional information on testifiers’ professions. Our findings offer validation for a model of parenting where biases regarding discrimination are likely to come from parents preferring less permissive/more authoritarian methods of parenting.

Keywords: discrimination, survey experiment, parenting style, daycare choice

JEL Classification: D15, D63, J15, I24

Suggested Citation

Batsaikhan, Mongoljin and Gørtz, Mette and Kennes, John Robert and Lyng, Ran Sun and Monte, Daniel and Tumennasan, Norovsambuu, Daycare Choice and Ethnic Diversity: Evidence from a Randomized Survey (December 20, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3507520 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3507520

Mongoljin Batsaikhan

Middlesex University - Economics Department ( email )

The Burroughs
London, NW4 4BT
United Kingdom

Mette Gørtz (Contact Author)

University of Copenhagen, Department of Economics ( email )

Øster Farimagsgade 5
Copenhagen, 1354
Denmark
+4535323014 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.ku.dk/gortz

IZA ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.iza.org/people/fellows/2532/mette-gortz

John Robert Kennes

VIVE - The Danish Centre of Applied Social Science ( email )

Ran Sun Lyng

Aarhus University - Department of Economics and Business Economics ( email )

Fuglesangs Allé 4
Aarhus V, 8210
Denmark

Daniel Monte

Sao Paulo School of Economics - FGV ( email )

Rua Itapeva, 474
12° andar, Bela Vista
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01332-000
Brazil
55 11 3799-3727 (Phone)

Norovsambuu Tumennasan

Brown University ( email )

64 Waterman Street
Providence, RI 02912
United States

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