Revising Our Thinking About the Relationship Between Maternal Labor Supply and Preschool

Maria Fitzpatrick

Journal of Human Resources, 2012, vol. 47, issue 3

Abstract: Many argue that childcare costs limit the labor supply of mothers, though existing evidence has been mixed. Using a child’s eligibility for public kindergarten in a regression discontinuity instrumental variables framework, I estimate how use of a particular subsidy, public school, affects maternal labor supply. I find public school enrollment increases only the employment of single mothers without additional young children. I compare this result to previous work, focusing on striking increases in a similar setting but earlier period (Gelabch 2002). Differences in the population of mothers, labor supply, and patterns of lifecycle events likely drive the discrepancy in results.

Date: 2012
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