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Free, full‐day programming for four‐year‐old children in Nova Scotia and women's labour market outcomes

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  • Jasmin Thomas

Abstract

Despite significant changes in gender norms over the 20th century and a substantial increase in women's labour force participation, women continue to provide the majority of unpaid child care. This poses a barrier to further improvements in women's labour force participation, especially when child care is limited, inaccessible or unaffordable. This paper explores the impact of substantial increases in child care accessibility and affordability on women's labour market outcomes by exploiting the rollout of free, full‐day programming for four‐year‐old children in Nova Scotia from 2017/18 to 2020/21 using a staggered difference‐in‐differences approach. The program led to a 21 percentage‐point increase in the labour force participation of mothers with four‐year‐old children in Nova Scotia, via increased employment. Unsurprisingly, these impacts are significantly larger for women whose youngest child is four years old. Programmes gratuits à temps plein pour les enfants de quatre ans en Nouvelle‐Écosse et résultats des femmes sur le marché du travail. Malgré des changements importants dans les normes de genre au cours du vingtième siècle et une augmentation substantielle de la participation des femmes au marché du travail, ces dernières continuent d'assurer la majorité des tâches non rémunérées pour s'occuper des enfants. Cette situation constitue un obstacle à l'amélioration de la participation des femmes au marché du travail, en particulier lorsque les services de garde d'enfants sont limités, inaccessibles ou inabordables. À l'aide de la méthode des doubles différences, cet article explore l'incidence de l'augmentation substantielle de l'accessibilité et de l'abordabilité des services de garde d'enfants sur les résultats des femmes sur le marché du travail, qui profitent du lancement d'un programme gratuit à temps plein pour les enfants de quatre ans en Nouvelle‐Écosse, de 2017‐2018 à 2020‐2021. Le programme a entraîné une augmentation de 21 points de pourcentage de la participation au marché du travail des mères ayant des enfants de quatre ans en Nouvelle‐Écosse, en raison d'une augmentation de l'emploi. Sans surprise, ces répercussions sont nettement plus importantes pour les femmes dont le plus jeune enfant est âgé de quatre ans.

Suggested Citation

  • Jasmin Thomas, 2024. "Free, full‐day programming for four‐year‐old children in Nova Scotia and women's labour market outcomes," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(2), pages 588-621, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:57:y:2024:i:2:p:588-621
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12704
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    References listed on IDEAS

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