RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Revising Our Thinking About the Relationship Between Maternal Labor Supply and Preschool
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 583
OP 612
DO 10.3368/jhr.47.3.583
VO 47
IS 3
A1 Fitzpatrick, Maria Donovan
YR 2012
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/47/3/583.abstract
AB 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.