October 21, 2025
Childcare Regulation and Affordability
In recent decades, childcare costs have outpaced family incomes and put pressure on family
budgets. Legislators typically consider government subsidies to be the primary solution to rising
costs, despite the high cost of broadly subsidizing care and possible adverse effects on families
and children. Yet policymakers have paid little attention to how existing regulations limit childcare
supply and increase costs, despite research emphasizing this relationship.