A blog about how shared admission systems change the childcare politics of communities

The Oslo Dilemma. How a 2019 Danish law gave municipalities a choice: Reform childcare or admissions
John Kennes John Kennes

The Oslo Dilemma. How a 2019 Danish law gave municipalities a choice: Reform childcare or admissions

How do municipalities react to national policies that demand changes in distributions?

A controversial ‘‘better distribution in daycare institutions law’’ in Denmark in 2019 gave municipalities a choice to reform either childcare or admissions. I describe how Copenhagen chose ‘‘the hard way’’ and reformed childcare keeping its liberal admission policies intact. The long run outcomes of Denmark’s new ‘‘parallel society’’ laws, and the current outcomes in smaller Danish municipalities, are much less clear.

Painting: Oda Krohg, A Newspaper Subscriber, 1887. Photo: The National Museum, Oslo.

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Who Really Controls Childcare Admissions in Denmark - Parents or Municipality?
John Kennes John Kennes

Who Really Controls Childcare Admissions in Denmark - Parents or Municipality?

This post explains why centralized childcare admission systems may have ambiguous outcomes when municipalities offer two admission paths. The childcare system in Denmark, which is administered by 98 local municipalities, gives a useful example of this problem for centralized childcare admissions design. The evidence suggests that not all Danish municipalities lean the same way. The municipality of Copenhagen leans towards parental choice while nearby Tårnby appears to lean in the other direction.

Photo: The Waagepetersen Family by Wilhelm Bendzblog. SMK.

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How child care in Copenhagen is “democratized’’
John Kennes John Kennes

How child care in Copenhagen is “democratized’’

To understand Copenhagen’s ‘‘democratization’’ approach to childcare, I recommend a visit to Bologna, Italy, which uses a centralized childcare admission system that is different than Copenhagen’s. The different childcare admission systems gives us a useful channel to explain and understand the different approaches to childcare in the two cities.

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Copenhagen’s free daycare debate: Is it about admissions policy?
John Kennes John Kennes

Copenhagen’s free daycare debate: Is it about admissions policy?

A major politician has suggested that Copenhagen unilaterally change daycare fees relative to neighboring municipalities. Does her policy depend on Copenhagen’s admission system? It does not hurt that more parents want to use daycare in the city center, and Copenhagen gets to decide who.

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