“Who’ll take the chair?” Maternal employment effects of a Polish (pre)school reform

Yusuf Emre Akgunduz, Thomas Huizen () and Janneke Plantenga
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Thomas Huizen: Utrecht University
Janneke Plantenga: Utrecht University

Empirical Economics, 2021, vol. 61, issue 2, No 20, 1097-1133

Abstract: Abstract This study examines the impact of preschool availability on the employment of mothers of preschool-aged children. We exploit a transitional phase of a 2009 Polish education reform that simultaneously lowered the primary school age from 7 to 6 and provided a statutory right to preschool to 5-year-olds. As a significant share of 6-year-old children moved into primary schools a year earlier, their preschool seats effectively became available for younger children. The reform thereby led to a substantial rise in the number of available preschool seats for 3- to 5-year-olds. Using regional variation in the degree of preschool expansion, we estimate the impact of the increased availability of preschool seats on maternal employment. Our results indicate a significant and sizable employment effect: a 10% points increase in the ratio of preschool seats to preschool-aged children increases maternal employment by around 4.2% points. The effect seems to be concentrated among highly educated mothers and mothers with a youngest child of age three.

Keywords: Preschool; Employment; Hours worked; Difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J21 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s00181-020-01877-5

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