Working Paper: NBER ID: w29660
Authors: 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.
Keywords: COVID-19; childcare; labor supply; married women; school reopenings
JEL Codes: I21; I38; J08; J11; J12; J21; J22; J48
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| K-12 school reopenings (I21) | labor supply of married women with school-aged children (J22) |
| K-12 school reopenings (I21) | employment rate of married women with school-aged children (J21) |
| K-12 school reopenings (I21) | hours worked of married women with school-aged children (D13) |
| K-12 school reopenings (I21) | remote work of married mothers (J22) |