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Effect of Remote Work on the Child Penalty: Evidence from the United States

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  • Ahmet Gulek
  • Christina Langer

Abstract

We study the effect of the post-COVID expansion of remote work on the child penalty. Our empirical design proceeds in three steps: using pseudo-panels to estimate child penalties across occupations, exploiting cross-occupational variation in remote work adoption, and using synthetic controls to adjust for differential pre-COVID trajectories. Remote work reduces the hours penalty for mothers: each percentage point increase in an occupation's remote work share raises mothers' hours worked by 0.23%, eliminating one-sixth of the baseline motherhood penalty for the average remote occupation. We find no effects on employment, income, or wages for mothers, and no average effects on men.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmet Gulek & Christina Langer, 2026. "Effect of Remote Work on the Child Penalty: Evidence from the United States," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26162, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    • Handle: RePEc:crm:wpaper:26162
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nicholas Bloom & Ruobing Han & James Liang, 2022. "How hybrid working from home works out," POID Working Papers 059, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Jean-Victor Alipour, 2025. "Does Remote Work Reinforce Gender Gaps in (Un)Paid Labor?," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 542, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    3. Emma Harrington & Matthew E. Kahn, 2026. "Has the Rise of Work from Home Reduced the Motherhood Penalty in the Labor Market?," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(2), pages 507-527.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    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
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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