Social Impact Investing

SOCIAL IMPACT INVESTMENT: BUILDING THE EVIDENCE BASE
Figure 5.4: Prisons in France, Italy and the United Kingdom are overfull
Note: Prison occupancy rates United Kingdom data is for England and Wales only, data for Australia, England & Wales, France,
Germany, and Italy are from 2013; 2012 in Japan and the United States, and 2009 in Canada.
Source: Author’s calculations of national informant data (available on request).
5.2.1.5 Family care and the employment of women
5.23 The social value of childcare for child development, family formation and female employment
has been recognised for many years (OECD, 2011a), and has been supported by increases in public
investment in this area in many OECD countries before the crisis (ibid) and one area of family policy that
has seen expansions during the crisis period (OECD, 2014a). Childcare is also seen as an important
contributor to the efficiency of social systems, preparing children for later schooling, increasing
productivity in adulthood and reducing the likelihood of anti-social outcomes (see for instance Heckman
and Masterov, 2007). Related to the provision of childcare, and important for achieving important gender
equity goals for societies, is helping women access good quality secure employment.
5.24 Table 5.3 presents data on recent developments in childcare enrolment and prime-age female
unemployment and part-time employment (Figure 5.5 maps female part-time employment to preschool
enrolment). Together these data point towards changing demand for childcare services, as well as changes
to childcare take-up, yet a general message is hard to interpret because the expected finding of an increase
in childcare for both age groups is not reflected in positive changes to broad employment patterns for
women of prime working age. Nonetheless, some country-specific findings can inform the SII discussion,
including: a suggestion of a need for innovation in non-childcare support for unemployed Italian women,
and an expansion in the provision of childcare in the United States, where there is likely to be unmet need
in the pre-school years (3-5) in particular (see Figure 5.5).
© OECD 2015 65