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Early Child Care and Labor Supply of Lower-SES Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Author

Listed:
  • Hermes, Henning

    (Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

  • Krauß, Marina

    (University of Augsburg)

  • Lergetporer, Philipp

    (Technical University of Munich)

  • Peter, Frauke

    (DZHW-German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies)

  • Wiederhold, Simon

    (IWH Halle)

Abstract

We present experimental evidence that enabling access to universal early child care for families with lower socioeconomic status (SES) increases maternal labor supply. Our intervention provides families with customized help for child care applications, resulting in a large increase in enrollment among lower-SES families. The treatment increases lower-SES mothers' full-time employment rates by 9 percentage points (+160%), household income by 10%, and mothers' earnings by 22%. The effect on full-time employment is largely driven by increased care hours provided by child care centers and fathers. Overall, the treatment substantially improves intra-household gender equality in terms of child care duties and earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Hermes, Henning & Krauß, Marina & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2022. "Early Child Care and Labor Supply of Lower-SES Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 15814, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15814
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    Cited by:

    1. Katrin Huber & Geske Rolvering, 2023. "Public child care and mothers’ career trajectories," Working Papers 228, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    2. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Fabian Mierisch & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Discrimination on the Child Care Market: A Nationwide Field Experiment," Working Papers 225, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    3. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 16/2021, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    4. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    5. Huber, Katrin & Rolvering, Geske, 2023. "Public Child Care and Mothers' Career Trajectories," IZA Discussion Papers 16433, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender equality; maternal employment; child care; randomized controlled trial;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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