THE CHILDCARE SECTOR IN

SOUTHERN ITALY:POLICIES AND

EFFICIENCY

1. Care services are becoming unsustainable for households;

2. Public care services can act as a countercyclical policy;

3. Public care services might produce innovation in terms of technology and household organization.

RATIONALE FOR STRENGTHENING CHILDCARE SERVICES

PLANNING◦ European treaties;◦ National Strategic Framework;◦ Regional, Interregional and National «Operational

Programmes».

OBIETTIVI DI SERVIZIO◦ 4 areas (education, care services, water

resources, Municipal waste),◦ Interesting incentive structure

PIANO NIDI

MAIN INTERVENTIONS IN CHILDCARE SERVICES (2007-2013)

Indicator S.04: Number of Municipalities where at least one care service is activated out of the overall number of Municipalities in the Region.

Indicator S.05: Number of children between 0 and 3 years old taken care of by Childcare services out of the overall number of children between 0 and 3 years old living in the Region.

CHILDCARE SERVICES: INDICATORS

European funds◦ European Social Fund (ESF);◦ European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD);◦ European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

National funds◦ Piano Nidi (2007-2009; 2010)◦ Fondo per le politiche della famiglia;◦ Fondo per le politiche relative ai diritti e alle pari

opportunità;◦ Fondo Aree Sottoutilizzate (FAS).

Regional, Municipal and Local funds

SOURCES OF FUNDING

ITALIAN CHILDCARE SERVICES AT FIRST GLANCE

INDICATOR S.04: COVERAGE OF CHILDCARE SERVICES

INDICATOR S.05: CARETAKING OF CHILDCARE SERVICES

CARETAKING AND MUNICIPAL SIZE

Uncertainty about FAS resources;

Poor programming ability;

Low economic activity and little contribution to tuition fees by private households.

MAIN CRITICALITIES OF THIS SECTOR

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE IN CHILDCARE SERVICES (ITALY)

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE IN CHILDCARE SERVICES (SOUTH)

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE IN NURSERIES (SOUTH)

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE IN ADDITIONAL AND INNOVATIVE SERVICES (SOUTH)

THE DATA

Warnings:• No data on the incidence of the private sector;• No data on the main features of the service (e.g.: number of opening hours);• No data on the number of care services in each Municipality.

Number of children

Current expenditureArea, share of population 0-3, type of management, tuition fees, urbanization, rural Municip., Regional dummies

Output variable

Input variable

Environmental variables

EFFICIENCY FRONTIER

Order-m average efficiency: 4.75FDH average efficiency:7.134

SHARE OF INEFFICIENT NURSERIES

FDHORDER-M

VARIABLES INFLUENCING INEFFICIENCY

ORDER-M FDH

VariableSign and significance of the coefficient

Share_pop03 +Area +Urbanization +Rural Munic. -Inc_tuition fees -Mixed manag. -Assoc. manag. +Abruzzi -Basilicata -Calabria -Molise -Puglia -Sardinia -Sicily -

VariableSign and significance of the coefficient

Share_pop03 +Area +Urbanization +Rural Munic. -Inc_tuition fees -Mixed manag. -Assoc. manag. +Abruzzi -Basilicata -Calabria -Molise -Puglia -Sardinia -Sicily -

Ongoing interventions: Redistribution of € 400 million to Regions in

the convergence objective (Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily);

Way forward: Foster additional and innovative services,

especially in rural areas. Better understanding of the processes

involved in Childcare provision; Use of new tools to foster Childcare

provision (e.g.: vouchers); Improvement of data quality.

ONGOING INTERVENTIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS