Tung Dang, University of Sydney - Childcare Quality, Maternal Labor Market Outcomes, and Child Development

Title: Childcare Quality, Maternal Labor Market Outcomes, and Child Development: Evidence from Australia’s First Decade of the National Quality Framework
(with Deborah Cobb-Clark and Hayley Fisher)

Abstract: Using administrative data on Australian day care services, we examine the impact of early childcare availability and quality on childcare utilization, mothers’ labor market outcomes, and children’s development. Our generalized triple difference estimation approach exploits spatial and temporal variation in day care availability and quality, leveraging the outcomes of older, school-aged children and their mothers as counterfactual comparisons. We document a substantial positive impact of day care availability offered by high-quality services on the use of formal care and mothers’ employment and earnings. In contrast, increased availability offered by low-quality services simply crowds out informal care arrangements without affecting maternal employment. Preliminary results further reveal an association between the availability of high-quality day care and parents’ perception of children’s well-being as well as teachers’ reports of children’s developmental outcomes. Our findings underscore the important roles of childcare quality in shaping families’ childcare choices and mothers’ employment decisions.

Presenter: Tung Dang, University of Sydney

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