Download full text
(1005.Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-75200-3
Exports for your reference manager
"Who'll take the chair?" Maternal employment effects of a Polish (pre)school reform
[journal article]
Abstract This study examines the impact of preschool availability on the employment of mothers of preschool-aged children. We exploit a transitional phase of a 2009 Polish education reform that simultaneously lowered the primary school age from 7 to 6 and provided a statutory right to preschool to 5-year-old... view more
This study examines the impact of preschool availability on the employment of mothers of preschool-aged children. We exploit a transitional phase of a 2009 Polish education reform that simultaneously lowered the primary school age from 7 to 6 and provided a statutory right to preschool to 5-year-olds. As a significant share of 6-year-old children moved into primary schools a year earlier, their preschool seats effectively became available for younger children. The reform thereby led to a substantial rise in the number of available preschool seats for 3- to 5-year-olds. Using regional variation in the degree of preschool expansion, we estimate the impact of the increased availability of preschool seats on maternal employment. Our results indicate a significant and sizable employment effect: a 10% points increase in the ratio of preschool seats to preschool-aged children increases maternal employment by around 4.2% points. The effect seems to be concentrated among highly educated mothers and mothers with a youngest child of age three.... view less
Keywords
Poland; preschool school; motherhood; labor force participation; educational policy; education system; effect on employment
Classification
Labor Market Research
Macroanalysis of the Education System, Economics of Education, Educational Policy
Free Keywords
Hours worked; Difference-in-differences; Polish Labor Force Survey (LFS) 2005-2011
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 1097-1133
Journal
Empirical Economics, 61 (2021) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-020-01877-5
ISSN
1435-8921
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed