OK, here's one example (it's where I'm from, Quebec, about 8m people, I know that the system has issues but generally it's a good childcare system, almost free, subsidised by the provincial government):
article by Annie Urban
Subsidized or free childcare is quickly dismissed by governments in the United States and many other countries. It?s too expensive, they say. People don?t want their taxes raised. Child-free individuals or stay-at-home parents by choice do not want their tax dollars to be spent on child care for other people?s children. That is just the beginning of the arguments that are made against finding a solution that will allow more mothers to go back to work and help families get out of poverty. However, new economic analysis coming out of Quebec shows that those are moot points ? subsidized day care pays for itself and even provides a healthy return on the investment.
Day Care Subsidy Allows More Women to Go Back to Work
The province of Quebec in Canada introduced free public all day kindergarten in 1997, then introduced a subsidized day care program for younger children in 1998. The program initially offered day care spaces for $5 per child per day and the fees were later increased to $7 (£4.50) per day. Currently, Parent Central reports that around half of Quebec children under the age of five are in the subsidized day care system. The subsidy provided by the government amounts to around $10,000 annually per day care space.
The cost for non-subsidized day care spaces runs about 5 to 10 times as much as the subsidized spaces. Essentially, before the subsidized day care program, it made financial sense for both parents to work only if they both had high salaries. For low income families or families with one high salary and one low salary, there was little benefit in both parents working. After the subsidized system was introduced, it made financial sense to have both parents working in almost all families.
In most families the mother earns less money than the father. As a result, the introduction of the subsidized day care system made it possible for a lot of women, who would otherwise have stayed home with the children, to continue their careers. This resulted in a significant increase in maternal workforce participation. According to Parent Central, by 2008 (1o years after the program was introduced), there were an additional 70,000 women with young children in the workforce, which represents an increase of 3.8 percent.
Day Care Subsidy Also Gives Quebec an Economic Boost
A new study by University of Montreal economics professor Pierre Fortin found that Quebec?s subsidized day care system more than pays for itself due to increased income and consumption tax revenue.
Parent Central reported on the study and noted that for every dollar that the government of Quebec invests in subsidized day care, it wins back $1.05; the federal government also benefits through the receipt of $0.44. Essentially, Quebec taxpayers are getting $1.49 back for every $1.00 spent on subsidized day care. I wish my investment portfolio did that well.
Beyond the tax considerations, Fortin also found that increased maternal workforce participation in Quebec gave the province?s Gross Domestic Product a 1.7 percent boost.
Read more: www.care2.com/causes/quebecs-subsidized-child-care-pays-for-itself.html#ixzz2PF64JVKP]