Publication: Childcare and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes in Lower-and Middle-Income Countries: A Policy Brief
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2022-07
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2022-07-21
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Twenty-two studies from lower- and middle-income countries rigorously tested if an increase in access to childcare improved mothers’ labor force participation or earnings. All but one study found at least some positive impact on mothers’ labor force participation and related outcomes resulting from access to care, an increase in care hours, or a reduction in the cost of care. The results of this review are encouraging; childcare can help improve female labor market outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
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“Halim, Daniel; Perova, Elizaveta; Reynolds, Sarah. 2022. Childcare and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes in Lower-and Middle-Income Countries: A Policy Brief. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37734 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11)Improving women’s labor force participation and the quality of their employment can boost economic growth and support poverty and inequality reduction; thus, it is highly pertinent for the development agenda. However, most systematic reviews on female labor market outcomes and childcare, which can arguably improve these outcomes, are focused on developed countries. This paper reviews 22 studies that plausibly identify the causal impact of institutional childcare on maternal labor market outcomes in lower- and-middle-income countries. All but one study finds positive impacts on the extensive or intensive margin of maternal labor market outcomes, which aligns with findings for developed countries. The paper further analyzes aspects of childcare design, including hours, ages of children, and coordination with other childcare services that may increase the impacts on maternal labor market outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research.Publication Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2022-07-12)Improving women's labor force participation and the quality of their employment can boost economic growth and support poverty and inequality reduction; thus, it is highly pertinent for the development agenda. However, existing systematic reviews on female labor market outcomes and childcare, which can arguably improve these outcomes, are focused on developed countries. We review 22 studies which plausibly identify the causal impact of institutional childcare on maternal labor market outcomes in lower-and-middle income countries. All but one study finds positive impacts on the extensive or intensive margin of maternal labor market outcomes, which aligns with findings from developed countries. We further analyze aspects of childcare design, including hours, ages of children, coordination with other childcare services that may increase the impacts on maternal labor market outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of directions for future research.Publication Could Childcare Services Improve Women’s Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-03)In this brief, the authors explore whether lack of access to childcare is a constraint to female labor force participation (LFP) in Indonesia, a country where female LFP lags far below the regional average. Using household and labor force survey data, we find that low female LFP is linked to unsatisfied childcare needs - after childbirth, lack of access to informal childcare is associated with a longer absence from the workforce for women and a switch into less lucrative occupations or unpaid family work.Publication Does Access to Preschool Increase Women’s Employment?(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018-07)Female labor force participation (FLFP) in Indonesia lags behind other countries in the region. Building on previous work that shows that unmet childcare needs are associated with low FLFP in Indonesia, here, we look at the impact of childcare availability on FLFP. The findings suggest that an additional public preschool per 1,000 children raises the employment of mothers of age-eligible children by 13 percent.Publication Preschool Availability and Female Labor Force Participation(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06)At 50.9 percent, female labor force participation in Indonesia is far below the regional average of 60.8 percent. Is it being hindered by a lack of affordable childcare services in the country? This paper exploits the joint variations in preschool age eligibility and access to preschool across regions and over years in a difference-in-difference-in-differences framework. With a longitudinal survey that tracks individuals for an average of 22 years, a panel of mothers was constructed to estimate the elasticity of maternal employment to preschool access. The analysis finds that an additional public preschool per 1,000 children increases the work participation of mothers of preschool age eligible children by 11-16 percent from the baseline mean. Private preschools do not increase work participation at the extensive margin, but they increase the likelihood of holding a second job. The availability of preschools induces mothers to informal sector occupations that do not require full-time commitments.
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