IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v61y2021i2d10.1007_s00181-020-01877-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Who’ll take the chair?” Maternal employment effects of a Polish (pre)school reform

Author

Listed:
  • Yusuf Emre Akgündüz

    (Sabanci University)

  • Thomas Huizen

    (Utrecht University)

  • Janneke Plantenga

    (Utrecht University)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of preschool availability on the employment of mothers of preschool-aged children. We exploit a transitional phase of a 2009 Polish education reform that simultaneously lowered the primary school age from 7 to 6 and provided a statutory right to preschool to 5-year-olds. As a significant share of 6-year-old children moved into primary schools a year earlier, their preschool seats effectively became available for younger children. The reform thereby led to a substantial rise in the number of available preschool seats for 3- to 5-year-olds. Using regional variation in the degree of preschool expansion, we estimate the impact of the increased availability of preschool seats on maternal employment. Our results indicate a significant and sizable employment effect: a 10% points increase in the ratio of preschool seats to preschool-aged children increases maternal employment by around 4.2% points. The effect seems to be concentrated among highly educated mothers and mothers with a youngest child of age three.

Suggested Citation

  • Yusuf Emre Akgündüz & Thomas Huizen & Janneke Plantenga, 2021. "“Who’ll take the chair?” Maternal employment effects of a Polish (pre)school reform," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 1097-1133, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:61:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-020-01877-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-020-01877-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-020-01877-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-020-01877-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elizabeth Cascio & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2013. "The Impacts of Expanding Access to High-Quality Preschool Education," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 44(2 (Fall)), pages 127-192.
    2. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian, 2007. "The effect of a large expansion of pre-primary school facilities on preschool attendance and maternal employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 665-680, June.
    3. Eva Garcia-Moran & Zoe Kuehn, 2017. "With Strings Attached: Grandparent-Provided Child Care and Female Labor Market Outcomes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 23, pages 80-98, January.
    4. Alzbeta Mullerova, 2017. "Family policy and maternal employment in the Czech transition: a natural experiment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 1185-1210, October.
    5. Jo Blanden & Emilia Del Bono & Sandra McNally & Birgitta Rabe, 2016. "Universal Pre‐school Education: The Case of Public Funding with Private Provision," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(592), pages 682-723, May.
    6. Ylenia Brilli & Daniela Boca & Chiara Pronzato, 2016. "Does child care availability play a role in maternal employment and children’s development? Evidence from Italy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 27-51, March.
    7. Maria Donovan Fitzpatrick, 2012. "Revising Our Thinking About the Relationship Between Maternal Labor Supply and Preschool," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(3), pages 583-612.
    8. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul, 2009. "The effect of pre-primary education on primary school performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 219-234, February.
    9. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Schlotter, Martin, 2015. "Public child care and mothers' labor supply—Evidence from two quasi-experiments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-16.
    10. Blau, David & Currie, Janet, 2006. "Pre-School, Day Care, and After-School Care: Who's Minding the Kids?," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 20, pages 1163-1278, Elsevier.
    11. Bettendorf, Leon J.H. & Jongen, Egbert L.W. & Muller, Paul, 2015. "Childcare subsidies and labour supply — Evidence from a large Dutch reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 112-123.
    12. Taryn W. Morrissey, 2017. "Child care and parent labor force participation: a review of the research literature," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    13. Patrick Puhani, 2000. "The Heckman Correction for Sample Selection and Its Critique," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 53-68, February.
    14. Lundin, Daniela & Mörk, Eva & Öckert, Björn, 2008. "How far can reduced childcare prices push female labour supply?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 647-659, August.
    15. Ylenia Brilli & Daniela Boca & Chiara Pronzato, 2016. "Does child care availability play a role in maternal employment and children’s development? Evidence from Italy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 27-51, March.
    16. Uta Schönberg & Johannes Ludsteck, 2014. "Expansions in Maternity Leave Coverage and Mothers' Labor Market Outcomes after Childbirth," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(3), pages 469-505.
    17. Havnes, Tarjei & Mogstad, Magne, 2011. "Money for nothing? Universal child care and maternal employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1455-1465.
    18. Yusuf Emre Akgunduz & Janneke Plantenga, 2018. "Child Care Prices And Maternal Employment: A Meta†Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 118-133, February.
    19. van Huizen, Thomas & Plantenga, Janneke, 2018. "Do children benefit from universal early childhood education and care? A meta-analysis of evidence from natural experiments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 206-222.
    20. Elizabeth U. Cascio, 2009. "Maternal Labor Supply and the Introduction of Kindergartens into American Public Schools," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    21. Nollenberger, Natalia & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2015. "Full-time universal childcare in a context of low maternal employment: Quasi-experimental evidence from Spain," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 124-136.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Edlira Narazania & Ana Agundez Garcia & Michael Christl & Francesco Figari, 2023. "The impact of alternative childcare policies on mothers' employment in selected EU countries," Working Papers 636, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gordon Dahl & Katrine Loken, 2024. "Families, Public Policies, and the Labor Market," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2423, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    2. Taryn W. Morrissey, 2017. "Child care and parent labor force participation: a review of the research literature," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Eric Schuss & Mohammed Azaouagh, 2021. "Combining parenthood and work: transmission channels and heterogeneous returns to early public childcare," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 641-676, September.
    4. Alena Bicakova & Klara Kaliskova, 2021. "Career-breaks and Maternal Employment in CEE Countries," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp706, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Eckhoff Andresen, Martin & Havnes, Tarjei, 2019. "Child care, parental labor supply and tax revenue," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    6. Brewer, Mike & Cattan, Sarah & Crawford, Claire & Rabe, Birgitta, 2016. "Free Childcare and Parents' Labour Supply: Is More Better?," IZA Discussion Papers 10415, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Brewer, Mike & Cattan, Sarah & Crawford, Claire & Rabe, Birgitta, 2022. "Does more free childcare help parents work more?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Daniela Vuri, 2016. "Do childcare policies increase maternal employment?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 241-241, March.
    9. Ludovica Gambaro & Jan Marcus & Frauke Peter, 2019. "School entry, afternoon care, and mothers’ labour supply," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 769-803, September.
    10. Huebener, Mathias & Pape, Astrid & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2020. "Parental labour supply responses to the abolition of day care fees," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 510-543.
    11. Matthias Krapf & Anja Roth & Michaela Slotwinski, 2020. "The Effect of Childcare on Parental Earnings Trajectories," CESifo Working Paper Series 8764, CESifo.
    12. Franziska Zimmert, 2023. "Early child care and the employment potential of mothers: evidence from semi-parametric difference-in-differences estimation," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Kozhaya, Mireille, 2022. "The double burden: The impact of school closures on labor force participation of mothers," Ruhr Economic Papers 956, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Schlotter, Martin, 2015. "Public child care and mothers' labor supply—Evidence from two quasi-experiments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-16.
    15. Müller, Kai-Uwe & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2020. "Does subsidized care for toddlers increase maternal labor supply? Evidence from a large-scale expansion of early childcare," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Felfe, Christina & Lechner, Michael & Thiemann, Petra, 2016. "After-school care and parents' labor supply," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 64-75.
    17. García, Jorge Luis & Heckman, James J. & Ziff, Anna L., 2018. "Gender differences in the benefits of an influential early childhood program," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 9-22.
    18. Laura Ravazzini, 2018. "Childcare and maternal part-time employment: a natural experiment using Swiss cantons," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 154(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Marc Jourdain Muizon, 2020. "Subsidies for parental leave and formal childcare: be careful what you wish for," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 735-772, September.
    20. Yamaguchi, Shintaro & Asai, Yukiko & Kambayashi, Ryo, 2018. "Effects of subsidized childcare on mothers’ labor supply under a rationing mechanism," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-17.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Preschool; Employment; Hours worked; Difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:61:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-020-01877-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.