Children, Publicly Provided Childcare, and Parent Employment
Paper Session
Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (EST)
- Chair: Yana Gallen, University of Chicago
Short and Long Run Maternal Labor Supply Responses to Publicly Provided Schooling for Children
Abstract
This study examines how access to public early childhood education in the U.S. impacts mothers’ labor supply decisions in the short and long term. Over the past 70 years, female labor force participation has surged, yet gender disparities in employment persist, partly due to the disproportionate childrearing responsibilities women face. Publicly funded early childhood education may alleviate these constraints, influencing mothers’ labor supply. The study links data from children’s birth records in the Numident with a panel of mothers’ employment from the LEHD from the early 2000s to 2014. We use statewide kindergarten cutoff deadlines to determine when a child becomes eligible for kindergarten. Using a Regression Discontinuity design based on children’s kindergarten eligibility cutoffs, we estimate maternal employment responses to gaining access to publicly provided kindergarten one year earlier than untreated families.Results show a modest employment increase of 0.23 percentage points for mothers with early kindergarten access, lasting two years before diminishing, demonstrating a role for early childhood education in relaxing mothers’ immediate time constraints as well as supporting mothers’ employment beyond the treatment year. Our findings imply that mothers’ employment continue to be sensitive to access to affordable childcare. Effects are strongest for highly educated mothers and those with no younger children. Additionally, employment responses are greater in regions with traditional gender norms. Mothers in areas that offer a longer school day have stronger and more persistent employment responses, suggesting that in addition to access to early childhood education, the design and timing of the program remains relevant for the employment responses of mothers.
Preschool as Child Care: Head Start Duration Expansions and Maternal Employment
Abstract
Early childhood care and education settings serve two purposes simultaneously: supporting children's development and early learning, and facilitating parents' gainful activities. We examine how access to full-day Head Start programs affects maternal labor supply, leveraging a recent funding eligibility rule that expanded the duration of Head Start programs. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of supplemental funds to extend the duration of Head Start programming. Head Start grantees serving fewer than 40 percent of their center-based slots for a full school day and full school year were eligible to apply.Our analysis leverages this policy threshold and combines data on Head Start enrollment and center locations with parents' employment data from the annual American Community Survey from 2008 to 2020. We first demonstrate that the 2016 funding availability significantly increased full-time Head Start enrollment. Next, using variation in access to full-day Head Start across place and time, we find that single mothers of preschool-aged children increase their labor force participation and work more hours per week. Our findings provide new evidence on the broader effects of early childhood investments on mothers' economic opportunities.
Sick Days, Snow Days, and the Labor Market Impacts of Caretaking Inequities
Abstract
We study how unexpected disruptions impact the labor supply and downstream labor market outcomes of parents in the United States, focusing in particular on events where children cannot attend childcare due to illness or weather-related issues. Using the Current Population Survey and variation at the county-month level in either snowfall or flu-related mortality, we find that mothers bear the entire brunt of these disruptions in terms of missing work. These effects are concentrated among mothers of higher socioeconomic status and have remained stable over the 21st century. Our findings add to our understanding of the determinants of labor market penalties associated with motherhood and point to the potential usefulness of workplace policies to accommodate childcare problems.Discussant(s)
Elizabeth Cascio
,
Dartmouth College
Douglas Miller
,
Cornell University
JEL Classifications
- J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor
- H4 - Publicly Provided Goods