Publication in the Journal of the European Economic Association
Henning Hermes is a co-author of a new publication in the Journal of the European Economic Association. The article, titled "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment", examines how application processes influence access to childcare and reinforce socioeconomic inequalities.
Henning Hermes has co-authored a new publication in the Journal of the European Economic Association, investigating why children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to be enrolled in child care — despite benefiting the most from it.
The study, conducted through a randomized controlled trial in Germany, shows that providing families with information and assistance during the application process significantly increased enrollment rates, cutting the socioeconomic gap in half. These findings offer important insights for designing more inclusive and equitable child care systems.