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School schedules and mothers’ employment: evidence from an education reform

Author

Listed:
  • Matias Berthelon

    (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez)

  • Diana Kruger

    (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez)

  • Melanie Oyarzún

    (Universidad del Desarrollo)

Abstract

Women’s employment plays an important role in household well-being, and among mothers, lack of child care is one of the main reasons for not working and not seeking employment. We investigate the effect of a reform that lengthened school schedules from half to full days in Chile—providing childcare for school aged children—on different maternal employment outcomes. Using a panel of 2814 mothers over a 7-year period, we find evidence of important positive causal effects of access to full-day schools on mother’s labor force participation, employment, weekly hours worked, and months worked during the year. We also find that lower-education and married mothers benefit most from the policy. Findings suggest that alleviating childcare needs can promote women’s attachment to the labor force, increase household incomes and alleviate poverty and inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Matias Berthelon & Diana Kruger & Melanie Oyarzún, 2023. "School schedules and mothers’ employment: evidence from an education reform," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 131-171, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:21:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s11150-022-09599-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-022-09599-6
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kairon Shayne D. Garcia & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2024. "Childcare Responsibilities and Parental Labor Market Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 153-200, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Full day schooling; School schedules; Female employment and labor force participation; Education reform; Latin America; Chile;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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