Abstract: Childcare has been crucial to fertility decisions，childrens growth and development，and human capital accumulation Which one is more important for children，the caregivers identity or ability? Can high ability nonparental care substitute parental care? These questions holds important theoretical and practical implications On the one hand，only by separating the effects of caregivers identity and caregivers ability can we more accurately understand the mechanisms by which caregivers influence childrens growth and development；on the other hand，if it is caregivers ability rather than caregivers identity that plays a key role in childrens growth and development，increasing the supply of highquality care services may be a solution to the dilemma of child care 
Using the China Family Panel Studies （CFPS） from 2010 to 2020，we examine the impact of caregivers identity and caregivers ability on childrens growth and development We examined multiple dimensions of childrens development，including early development，academic achievement，cognitive ability，noncognitive ability，and health status We identify the effect of caregivers identity by comparing children cared for by their mothers and those cared for by their grandparents We use years of education to measure caregivers ability in our baseline analysis，and use their cognitive ability，noncognitive ability and health status to measure ability in robustness analysis 
We find that：（1） The key factor affecting childrens growth and development is caregivers ability rather than caregivers identity After controlling for the caregivers ability，whether or not a child is cared for by her mother has little or no statistically significant effect on childrens early development，academic performance，cognitive or noncognitive abilities；（2） Caregivers ability has a significant and lasting effect on childrens growth and development The higher the caregivers ability，the better the childrens academic achievement，cognitive and noncognitive development，and the less likely they get sick；（3） Maternal care can amplify the impact of caregivers ability on early childhood development，academic performance，cognitive ability，and health status；（4） Caregivers with high ability tend to have a stronger sense of parenting responsibility，higher expectations of their children，more scientific parenting modes，more interactions with their children，and more time and energy invested in their childrens care Highability mothers have higher expectations for their childrens educational achievements，interact more with children and invest more in education
Those findings imply that increasing the supply of highquality public or marketbased care services is a possible way to promote fertility without harming childrens growth and development

Key words: caregiver's identity, caregivers ability, parental care, childrens development

摘要： 儿童照料既影响生育决策，也关系到儿童发展和人口质量。本文使用中国家庭追踪调查数据，考察了照料人身份和照料人素质对儿童成长发展的影响。实证结果显示：第一，给定照料人素质，是否由母亲照料对儿童的成长发展没有显著的影响；第二，照料人素质对儿童的学业成绩、认知能力、非认知能力和健康状况都存在显著和持续的正面影响；第三，母亲照料可以在多维度上放大照料人素质的作用；第四，高素质的照料人对孩子的预期更高，教养模式更科学，养育行为更积极，高素质母亲对子女教育有更高预期，在与儿童互动、教育投资等方面有更大的正向作用。本文结论表明，高质量的公共或市场化的照料服务供给可以在不损害儿童成长发展的情况下降低家庭照料负担和促进人口生育。

关键词: 照料人身份, 照料人素质, 亲子照料, 儿童成长发展