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Primary school reopenings and parental work

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  • Pierre‐Loup Beauregard
  • Marie Connolly
  • Catherine Haeck
  • Tímea Laura Molnár

Abstract

In this paper, we exploit the geographical pattern of primary school reopenings during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Canada to estimate the impact of school reopenings on parental employment and work hours. We use a triple‐difference approach, in which we first compare parents of primary‐school children in regions where schools reopened to similar parents in regions where schools remained closed and add parents of older, secondary‐school children as an additional control group. We estimate the impact of school reopenings separately for mothers and fathers, and for single parents and parents living in dual‐parent households. We find a positive impact of school reopenings on employment and on actual hours worked. The effects tend to be stronger for single mothers, but are also present for mothers and fathers in dual‐parent households in the spring of 2020. Overall, single mothers experienced an 18 percentage point increase in their employment at work rate following school reopenings. We also split our sample according to whether the job can be done from home, and find stronger impacts for those whose jobs cannot easily be done from home. La réouverture des écoles primaires et le travail des parents. Dans cet article, nous exploitons la dispersion géographique des réouvertures d’écoles primaires durant la pandémie de COVID‐19 au Canada afin d'estimer l'impact des réouvertures d’écoles sur l'emploi des parents et leurs heures de travail. Nous utilisons une approche de triple différence, dans laquelle nous comparons tout d'abord les parents d'enfants à l’école primaire dans les régions où les écoles ont réouvert aux parents similaires dans les régions où les écoles sont restées fermées, puis nous ajoutons les parents d'enfants plus âgés, à l’école secondaire, comme groupe de contrôle additionnel. Nous estimons l'impact des réouvertures d’écoles séparément pour les mères et les pères, et pour les parents monoparentaux et ceux dans les ménages à deux parents. Nous trouvons un impact positif des réouvertures d’écoles sur l'emploi et les heures effectivement travaillées. Les effets tendent à être plus marqués pour les mères monoparentales, mais sont aussi présents pour les mères et les pères dans les ménages à deux parents au printemps 2020. En tout, les mères monoparentales ont connu une hausse de 18 points de pourcentage de leur taux d'emploi (au travail) suite aux réouvertures d’écoles. Nous séparons aussi notre échantillon selon que l'emploi puisse être fait de la maison et trouvons des impacts plus forts pour ceux dont l'emploi ne peut facilement être fait de la maison.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre‐Loup Beauregard & Marie Connolly & Catherine Haeck & Tímea Laura Molnár, 2022. "Primary school reopenings and parental work," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 248-281, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:55:y:2022:i:s1:p:248-281
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12566
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    Cited by:

    1. David A. Green & Ali Karimirad & Gaëlle Simard-Duplain & Henry E. Siu, 2020. "COVID and the Economic Importance of In-Person K-12 Schooling," NBER Working Papers 28200, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. María del Pilar Toyos, 2022. "Cierre de escuelas en pandemia y brechas de género en Argentina: ¿madres más vulnerables?," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4603, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    3. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    4. Fukai, Taiyo & Ikeda, Masato & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Employment Gender Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 14711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Fukai, Taiyo & Ikeda, Masato & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2023. "COVID-19 and the employment gender gap in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Misty Heggeness & Ana Sofía León, 2023. "Parenthood and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Chile," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 075, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • 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

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