RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women’s Labor Supply
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1295
OP 1319
DO 10.3368/jhr.0822-12507R1
VO 61
IS 4
A1 Hansen, Benjamin
A1 Sabia, Joseph J.
A1 Schaller, Jessamyn
YR 2026
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/61/4/1295.abstract
AB 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.