A two-step approach to analyze the inclusivity distribution in childcare services in Italy

This paper studies inclusiveness in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in Italy. The Italian legislative decree n. 65/2017 emphasizes the inclusiveness of ECEC services, defined as openness to all children. We propose a two-step model to analyze this concept. In the first step, the inclusiveness is estimated as a latent variable through an item response theory model. Then, the empirical best prediction (EBP) approach provides a reliable aggregate estimate of the phenomenon at the regional (NUTS2) level, which are unplanned domains for the considered data. In the second step, a mixed quantile model analyzes the distribution of this new inclusivity index, showing the disparities between public and private ECEC services and identifying virtuous regional scenarios. The results underline the need to standardize the accessibility features of ECEC services across Italy.