The Accessibility of Online Government Services: A capability approach to assess the accessibility of childcare allowances in the Netherlands.

Abstract

The Netherlands experienced a crisis in childcare allowances in late 2019, a crisis which highlights problems associated with the digitalization of governmental services. In particular, digitalization may decrease the accessibility of government services, which can subsequently create or exacerbate class and gender inequalities. Access to childcare allowances is essential to many parents, as this provides them with the opportunity to use formal childcare. Access to online childcare allowances, however, requires a certain level of digital literacy (i.e. digital skills) and functional literacy (i.e. ability to understand the system of government allowances) that some parents may not possess. Using Sen’s Capability Approach, this study aims to answer how, and to what extent, digital and functional literacy affect parents’ perceived access to childcare allowances in the Netherlands. A primarily quantitative approach was taken to answer this question. A survey, held among parents eligible for childcare allowances, was conducted to gather data on functional literacy, digital literacy, perceived access to childcare allowances and a number of sociodemographic factors. Results show higher educated parents had higher levels of digital literacy; there was no such effect of education on functional literacy. Parents with higher levels of functional literacy had greater perceived access to childcare allowances, while digital literacy was not related to perceived access to childcare allowances. This non-significant effect of digital literacy on perceived access to childcare allowances could be a result of the lack of diversity in the sample, as those with lower digital skills were hard to reach given recruitment limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, this research has demonstrated the importance of digital and functional literacy for the accessibility of (online) government services. Policy recommendations include using a realistic perspective on behaviour when implementing policies to make services more accessible.