Private Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in the Nordic Countries: Development and governance of the welfare mix

This report examines the role of private providers of ECEC services in the five Nordic countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. For each country, we map the ECEC journey from a selective service at the fringes of the welfare state to a universal service at the core of the welfare state. We subsequently analyze the role that non-profit and for-profit providers have played in this development and their position today. We pay special attention to the governing tools used by the Nordic governments to regulate the welfare mix, that is, the division of public, for-profit, and nonprofit providers