Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women’s Labor Supply

Abstract

This study examines the employment effects of a large shock to mothers’ childcare costs generated by changes in the availability of in-person K-12 instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. We proxy for school attendance using smartphone data from Safegraph. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find K-12 reopenings are associated with increases in employment and hours among married women with school-aged children, with no measurable effects for childless women, custodial fathers, or unmarried women. Event-study analyses are consistent with a causal interpretation. Major activity responses show reductions in the reported likelihood of remaining out of the labor force to engage in caregiving.