Developing child-care provision in England and Germany: problems of governance

Both the UK and German governments have sought to expand child-care provision. There is some evidence of convergence between the two countries in respect of changes in governance as well, but we suggest that the differences remain more striking. The paper draws on national-level data and local case-studies in both countries. We comment on the nature of the expansion of child care and, briefly, on the degree of commitment to it, before exploring the operation of the mixed economy of child care in each country and the relationship between local and central government. We seek the explanation for the differences we observe in the articulation between these two key modes of governance.