Unequal access to early childcare: What role do cognitive and behavioral factors play? A PRISMA systematic review

Abstract Despite well-documented inequalities in access to early childcare services for underprivileged populations, the cognitive and behavioral factors contributing to these disparities have been largely overlooked in existing frameworks. This article addresses this gap by integrating insights from behavioral economics and other behavioral sciences into the analysis of unequal access. First, we expand existing theoretical models by incorporating cognitive and behavioral factors, such as information gaps and decision-making heuristics, alongside structural barriers. Second, we evaluate the empirical relevance of this integration through a PRISMA mixed-methods systematic review of the literature. Our findings, supported by effect sizes, cross-validated impact scores, and p-curve analyses, indicate that cognitive and behavioral factors significantly contribute to access inequalities. We argue that public policies must go beyond structural solutions by redesigning the choice architecture and implementing interventions to support informed decision-making and reduce friction costs. Failure to integrate these behavioral insights risks perpetuating unequal access to high-quality childcare services.