Welfare Governance: Regulating the Rise of Private Credit in Social Welfare Services

Around the world, private equity funds and other investors have acquired social welfare service providers such as hospitals, physician groups, colleges, and childcare centres. While private equity funds bring significant financing to these sectors, private equity ownership is associated with reduced service quality, higher costs, and deteriorating working conditions for service providers—especially where private equity has a substantial share of a local market. This project examines the legal and regulatory reforms in social policy and financial regulation that have permitted and incentivized the expansion of investor-backed childcare services. Drawing on the primary legal regimes regulating social services, it analyzes the interrelationships between welfare, labour, and competition laws and aims to propose a legal framework to regulate private financing in social services.

Focusing on childcare as a key welfare institution, the project compares the legal frameworks in Canada, France, and the United States. In the U.S., childcare financing and delivery is largely market-based, while France’s traditionally public-supported childcare sector has seen the recent extensive expansion of for-profit private service providers. The differing welfare market structures arise from the contrasting welfare financing and regulation. Both countries offer lessons for Canada, where the roll-out of increased government financing for childcare services is underway.

Faculty Supervisor:

Adelle Blackett

Student:

Partner:

Sciences Po

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: