The tota l g ross costs for the Sw edish child ca re-system a m ou nted in 1998 to SEK
40 0 0 0 m illions (ECU 4 40 0 m illions). These costs inclu de ECEC-setting s for pre-school a g e children (1-5) a s w ell a s school-a g e child ca re in leisu re- tim e centres, fa m ily da y ca re hom es a nd open a ctivities. Costs ha ve sta yed the sa m e du ring the period 1991 - 1998, despite the fa ct tha t the nu m ber of children in pre-schools, leisu re-tim e centres a nd fa m ily da y ca re hom es h a ve increa sed by 185 0 0 0 du ring the sa m e period.
If produ ctivity is m ea su red in cha ng es in costs per hou r, stu dies show tha t these costs ha ve been redu ced by a bou t 20 percent in da y ca re centres (now la belled pre-schools) a nd leisu re-tim e centres, bu t h a ve rem a ined the sa m e, or increa sed slightly in fa m ily da y ca re hom es du ring the period. The increa se in produ ctivity ha s been brou g ht a bou t m a inly throu g h a n increa se in nu m ber of children in the g rou ps, a nd a redu ced a du lt/child ra tio. The a vera g e a nnu a l g ross cost per child for a pla ce in a Sw edish child ca re- setting a m ou nted in 1998 to a bou t SEK 56 0 0 0 (ECU 6 20 0 ), bu t costs va ry a m ong different types of setting s. (Ta ble 9)
In the 70 s a nd 80 s, the ru nning costs for a pla ce in a Sw edish ECEC-setting w ere divided betw een the na tiona l G overnm ent, the m u nicipa lities, a nd the pa rents in su ch a w a y tha t the sta te a nd the m u nicipa lities ea ch covered a bou t 45 percent of the costs a nd the pa rents the rem a ining 10 percent a s direct child ca re fees. Parents u su a lly pa id on a sliding sca le ba sed on incom e, a nd the g ra nts from the na tiona l G overnm ent to the m u nicipa lities w ere ea rm a rk ed to be u sed specifica lly to cover child ca re costs.
This fu nding system cha ng ed du ring the 90 s, w hen su pport for decentra lisa - tion of decision-m a k ing a nd responsibilities ha s been high on the politica l a g enda . Specifica lly defined sta te g ra nts ha ve been repla ced by g enera l g overnm ent block g ra nts. To cover the costs of child ca re, m u nicipa lities m ight com bine the u se of incom e ta x revenu es a nd pa renta l fees in va riou s w a ys. In 1998, 17 percent of the costs w ere fina nced throu g h pa renta l fees, com pa red w ith a bou t 10 percent, seven yea rs ea rlier. Parenta l incom e continu es to a ffect these fees, a nd m ost m u nicipa lities h a ve sta rted to u se a pa ym ent-system link ed to the nu m ber of hou rs per w eek a child is present in the ECEC-setting , in a n a ttem pt to try to a ffect fa m ily dem a nd for child ca re.
Costs of child ca re a re higher in the la rg est cities, pa rtly to be expla ined by m ore expensive bu ilding s, a la rg er percenta g e of children in need of specia l su pport, a nd the need for children to spend m ore hou rs in EC EC-setting s beca u se of long er tra vel dista nces for pa rents to g et to their w ork -pla ces. Differences a m ong m u nicipa lities m ig h t a lso be link ed to differences in
a du lt/child ra tios, g rou p sizes a nd a g e distribu tion a m ong children. Va rying deg rees of integ ra tion betw een schools, pre-schools a nd school-a g e child ca re m ight a lso be im porta nt tin m a k ing m ore efficient u se of a va ila ble resou rces.
The distribu tion of costs a cross a rea s of edu ca tion a nd socia l services a m ong Sw edish m u nicipa lities ha s received considera ble a ttention du ring the pa st ten yea rs, a s fina ncia l cu t-ba ck s a nd sa ving s ha ve been high on the politica l a g enda . W a ys of m ea su ring , a na lysing a nd com pa ring m u nicipa l costs a nd priorities ha ve been refined a nd a va ila ble inform a tion m a de m ore deta iled. There is a lso a need to broa den these a na lyses to inclu de not only g ross costs of i.e. ECEC-a ctivities, bu t a lso to fu rther investig a te the m u nicipa l a nd societa l net effects of pu blicly fina nced prog ra m s. Su ch stu dies w ere condu cted in the beg inning of the 80 s, indica ting positive rela tionships a m ong va ria bles su ch a s child ca re spending , em ploym ent ra tes, ta x revenu es, a nd G NP.