New research provides insight into the impact of reopening schools on employment of married women with school-aged children

In a paper titled “Schools, Job Flexibility, And Married Women’s Labor Supply: Evidence From The COVID-19 Pandemic,” University of Oregon economist and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research Benjamin Hansen, Joseph J. Sabia, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies at San Diego State University, and Jessamyn Schaller, an economist at Claremont McKenna College and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, use cell phone data to study the link between school reopening and participation in the workforce by married women with school-aged children.  

Overall, school re-openings beginning in fall 2020 were associated with increased labor participation among married women with school-aged children. Women with older kids worked more hours and had higher rates of employment when schools reopened. Remote work seemed to have a bigger impact for mothers of younger children—those mothers were more likely to pivot away from remote work when schools reopened, compared to mothers of older children.    

The paper goes live on the National Bureau of Economic Research website on January 18.   

Link to the paper: https://www.nber.org/papers/w29660