Child Care over the Business Cycle

Jessica H. Brown () and Chris M. Herbst ()
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Jessica H. Brown: University of South Carolina
Chris M. Herbst: Arizona State University

No 14048, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We estimate the impact of macroeconomic conditions on the child care market. We find that the industry is substantially more exposed to the business cycle than other low-wage industries and responds more strongly to negative shocks than positive ones. Indeed, child care employment requires more time to recover than the rest of the economy. Although the reduction in supply may pose difficulties for parents, we find evidence that center quality is countercyclical. When unemployment rates are higher, child care workers have on average higher levels of education and experience, turnover rates are lower, and consumer reviews on Yelp.com are higher.

Keywords: business cycles; early childhood education; child care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 J13 J21 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 55 pages
Date: 2021-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-lma and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: Journal of Labor Economics, 2022, 40 (S1), S429-S468

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