Public child care and mothers' labor supply—Evidence from two quasi-experiments

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Public child care is expected to assist families in reconciling work with family life. Yet, empirical evidence for the relevance of public child care to maternal employment is inconclusive. We exploit the introduction of a legal claim to a place in kindergarten in Germany, which was contingent on day-of-birth cut-off dates and resulted in a marked increase in kindergarten attendance of three-year olds in the following years. Instrumental variable and difference-indifferences estimations on two individual-level data sets yield large and positive effects of public child care on maternal employment. A set of placebo treatment tests corroborate the validity of our identification strategies. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor mayJEL-Code: J220, J130, D040.

Female Labor Force Participation in Asia: Indonesia Country Study

“…Thus, policies that make it easier for women with young children to work, or policies that help reintroduce mothers of older children to high-return wage employment, could be an especially useful tool for boosting FLFP. Rigorous research in the United States (US), Europe, and Latin America has found varying, though often positive, impacts of childcare facilities on FLFP; see the literature review in Bauernschuster and Schlotter (2015). Bauernschuster and Schlotter (2015) argue that subsidized childcare will likely be effective in contexts where it does not simply crowd out informal caregiving arrangements.…”

“…Rigorous research in the United States (US), Europe, and Latin America has found varying, though often positive, impacts of childcare facilities on FLFP; see the literature review in Bauernschuster and Schlotter (2015). Bauernschuster and Schlotter (2015) argue that subsidized childcare will likely be effective in contexts where it does not simply crowd out informal caregiving arrangements. In the Indonesian context, this suggests that urban women, who often have family in rural areas, could especially benefit from services.…”

Pension Wealth and Maternal Employment: Evidence from a Reform of the German Child Care Pension Benefit

“…Many studies rely therefore on quasi-experimental approaches, mainly the difference-in-difference method, often exploiting an expansion of subsidized child care as a natural experiment (Havnes and Mogstad, 2011;Cascio, 2009;Bauernschuster and Schlotter, 2013;Givord and Marbot, 2013;Nollenberger and Rodriguez-Planas, 2011;Bettendorf et al, 2012;Lefebvre et al, 2009;Lundin et al, 2008;Fitzpatrick, 2010 timating employment responses, they exploit spatial and temporal variation on the municipality level. Their empirical analysis is conducted using administrative data that covers the entire Norwegian population over the relevant period.…”

“…German study exploits the introduction of the legal claim to a place in kindergarten for three-to six-year old children in 1996 in West Germany to estimate the effect on maternal employment (Bauernschuster and Schlotter, 2013). Results from two different quasi-experimental approaches consistently document large positive effects on employment among mothers whose youngest child is three to four years old.…”

The Effect of All-Day Primary School Programs on Maternal Labor Supply

“…Most of these studies have focused on the effects of childcare provision for preschool-aged children. Exploiting temporal and regional variation in childcare supply and estimating difference-in-differences models or relying on eligibility cut-offs in an instrumental variable or regression discontinuity setting, these studies provide mixed evidence (Gelbach 2002, Berlinski & Galiani 2007, Baker et al 2008, Cascio 2009, Fitzpatrick 2010, Havnes & Mogstad 2011, and Bauernschuster & Schlotter 2015. Childcare provision for school-aged children has attracted little attention, although primary school-aged children also require a significant amount of maternal care.…”