The Impact of Publicly Funded Childcare on Parental Well-Being: Evidence from Cut-Off Rules.

ABSTRACT: As more and more countries consider expanding public childcare provision, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of its implications for families. This article adds to the existing literature by investigating the effect of publicly funded childcare on parental subjective well-being. To establish causality, I exploit cut-off rules introduced following the implementation of a legal claim to childcare in Germany. The results suggest that childcare provision strongly increases the life satisfaction of mothers who were previously constrained by the lack of childcare supply. The effect is more pronounced for mothers with higher labour market attachment. The coefficients for fathers are smaller and not statistically significant. As potential mechanisms, a wide range of time-use and

SUBMITTER: Schmitz S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7113341 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature