Publications / Articles / 2007 / 2007:067 En uventet vending - offentlig barneomsorg etter kontantstøtten
En uventet vending - offentlig barneomsorg etter kontantstøtten
The introduction of a "cash for care" benefit in 1998 for one- and two-year-old children that do not use publicly funded childcare services represented a neo-familistic trend in Norwegian family policy. Cash benefits imply privatisation of childcare, and the general expectation was a decline in parents' demand for day care places. The bleakest prediction was a dismantling of public childcare services due to failing demand. This article demonstrates that the demand for day care has actually taken an unexpected turn: the proportion of one- and two-year-olds in public childcare has risen notably after the reform. The article's main aim is to explain this development. Implications for Norwegian childcare policy and for the study of this policy field are addressed.