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Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women's Labor Supply

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  • Benjamin Hansen
  • Joseph J. Sabia
  • Jessamyn Schaller

Abstract

This study examines the employment effects of a large shock to mothers' childcare costs generated by the availability of in-person K-12 instruction during the COVID- 19 pandemic. We proxy for school attendance using smartphone data from Safegraph. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find K-12 reopenings are associated with increases in employment and hours among married women with school-aged children with no measurable effects on labor supply of childless women, custodial fathers, or unmarried women. Event-study analyses are consistent with a causal interpretation. Major activity responses show school reopenings reduced married women remaining out of the labor force to care for children.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women's Labor Supply," NBER Working Papers 29660, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29660
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Clarke, Damian & Larroulet, Pilar & Pailañir, Daniel & Quintana, Daniela, 2023. "Schools as Safety Nets: Break-Downs and Recovery in Reporting of Violence against Children," IZA Discussion Papers 15859, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2024. "The female happiness paradox," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-27, March.
    3. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures," NBER Working Papers 30795, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • 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
    • J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy

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