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Young Children and Parents' Labor Supply during COVID-19

Author

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  • Barkowski, Scott
  • McLaughlin, Joanne Song
  • Dai, Yinlin

Abstract

We study the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the labor supply of parents with young children. Using the monthly Current Population Survey, and following a pre-analysis plan, we use three variations of difference-in-differences to compare workers with childcare needs to those without. The first compares parents with young children and those without young children, while the second and third rely on the presence of someone who could provide childcare in the household: a teenager in one and a grandparent in the other. We analyze three outcomes: whether parents were “at work” (not sick, on vacation, or otherwise away from his or her job); whether they were employed; and hours worked. Contrary to expectation, we find the labor supply of parents with young children was not negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, some evidence suggests they were more likely to be working after the pandemic unfolded. For the outcomes of being at work and employed, our results are not systematically different for men and women, but some findings suggest women with young children worked almost an hour longer per week than those without. These results suggest that factors like employers allowing employees to work at home and informal sources of childcare aided parents in avoiding negative shocks to their labor supply during the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Barkowski, Scott & McLaughlin, Joanne Song & Dai, Yinlin, 2020. "Young Children and Parents' Labor Supply during COVID-19," MPRA Paper 102107, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 27 Jul 2020.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:102107
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/108965/1/MPRA_paper_108965.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Misty L. Heggeness, 2020. "Estimating the immediate impact of the COVID-19 shock on parental attachment to the labor market and the double bind of mothers," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1053-1078, December.
    2. Lisa Hanzl & Miriam Rehm, 2023. "Less Work, More Labor: School Closures and Work Hours During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 252-284, October.
    3. Peter Hinrichs, 2021. "COVID-19 and Education: A Survey of the Research," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, vol. 2021(04), pages 1-6, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor supply; COVID-19; Childcare; School closures; Coronavirus;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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