Who looks to the government? How partner and household work hours shape support for public childcare in 26 countries

Abstract

This study examines individuals’ support for government responsibility for childcare in cross-national contexts. Relying on International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data from 29,889 adults across 26 countries measuring attitudes toward childcare provision, we use multilevel logistic regression models to assess the influence of individual, household, and country-level variables on support for government childcare. Contrary to previous welfare research on parental leave that focuses on individual or country-level predictors, we argue that household dynamics and work–life load among couples is key for understanding support for government childcare. For partnered adults, those who experience the “dual load” where both partners are engaged in full-time or overtime work are especially likely to support government childcare. We also find variation by gender; for women, their own full-time work is associated with greater support for government childcare, while for men, those with a full-time working partner or spouse show greater support for government childcare. As policymakers assemble allies to respond to the global childcare crisis, the results from this study reveal which groups might form constituencies of support for government childcare.