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Heterogeneous effects of school reopenings on the labor supply of parents of young school-age children

Author

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  • Misty L. Heggeness

    (University of Kansas)

  • Ana Sofía León

    (Universidad Diego Portales)

Abstract

Like most countries, the Chilean government closed schools as part of its pandemic public health mandates. In this paper, we study the impact of central planner variation in school reopenings on parental labor supply focusing on the initial three months after schools partially reopened. Mothers’ labor force participation decreased by 5.1 percentage points (ppts) one month after reopening relative to mothers near closed schools and decreased by 9.5 ppts among householder mothers. Two or three months later, mothers who remained in the labor force saw a minimal increase in their ability to actively work and, more specifically, to work in informal jobs. The labor force participation of fathers increased anywhere from 2.0 to 2.9 ppts and by as much as 10.7 ppts for non-householder fathers. Unplanned care interruptions during school reopening had differential effects on parental labor supply. Our findings support a theory that parental labor supply is sensitive to childcare transitions both in terms of gender and the householder status of the parent.

Suggested Citation

  • Misty L. Heggeness & Ana Sofía León, 2025. "Heterogeneous effects of school reopenings on the labor supply of parents of young school-age children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 551-587, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:23:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s11150-025-09766-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-025-09766-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor supply; gender; parenthood; cost of caregiving; NPI policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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