The effect of universal pre‐kindergarten policy on female labor force participation—A synthetic control approach

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of universal pre‐kindergarten (pre‐k) on the labor force participation of mothers with pre‐k‐aged children in Oklahoma and Georgia. I apply the synthetic control method (SCM) to Current Population Survey (CPS) data to identify the causal relationship between universal pre‐k and female labor market outcomes. I find that the universal pre‐k policy has a positive impact on the intensive margin of the labor supply of mothers with pre‐k‐aged children in Georgia, which provides full‐day child care services for all pre‐k programs. However, Oklahoma's universal pre‐k policy has little effect on the labor outcomes of mothers with 4‐year‐old children. The empirical results also suggest that universal pre‐k has heterogeneous impacts on subsamples stratified by education level, marital status, poverty status, and the age structure of children in the household.