How individuals perceive reconciliation problems the role of childcare policies

Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle; Oehrli, Dominique Anne (26 April 2016). How individuals perceive reconciliation problems the role of childcare policies (Unpublished). In: ECPR Joint Sessions, Workshop 14 - "Public Opinion and Public Policy - Analyzing Feedback Effects in Comparative Politics". Pisa, Italy. 24.-28.04.2016.

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Recent decades have seen a growing bulk of studies regarding gender related differences in paid employment and the role of childcare policies to facilitate reconciliation of family and work duties. Much less attention has been paid to gender-specific perceptions of reconciliation problems as well as time restrictions not only regarding employment and care duties, but also with respect to housework and social activities. Considering reconciliation problems between these different spheres of life, the paper contributes to an encompassing understanding of time conflicts and related gender inequalities. Special attention is given to the effects of child care services. We thereby distinguish between direct structural, indirect structural and normative/symbolic policy effects. Empirically, the proposed paper is based on individual level data from 60 Swiss communes. This data set is expanded by original data on communal child care supply. Applying hierarchical multinomial regression models allows us to analyze various perceptions of time restrictions simultaneously and to consider how different communal contexts shape these attitudes.
The paper fits very well in the general theme of the workshop, since it departs from the idea that a specific policy will not only alter the material and social conditions of social groups, but also shape citizens attitudes and perceptions. It takes up several ideas and approaches mentioned in the workshop outline. First, it focuses on a policy area, in which policy feedback is very probable, but potentially also difficult to identify. Second and relatedly, integrating direct and indirect, but also structural and normative policy effects may help considering specific mechanisms behind potential feedback effects. Finally, measuring (causal) policy effects is inherently difficult. This is particularly true in decentralized countries, where policy implementation may differ a lot at the regional level. Our novel local policy data provides important advantages by capturing potential policy effects where they actually happen.

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