Events at CERGE-EI

Astrid Kunze, Ph.D.

NHH (Norwegian School of Economics), Bergen, Norway

Authors: Astrid Kunze and Xingfei Liu

Abstract: This study tests whether the expansion of childcare leads to an increase in female labor supply. We exploit the regional variation of the expansion of childcare for the one to two year old in Norway following the reform in 2002. The paper makes a contribution to the literature in two respects: First, previous studies suggest no or very weak evidence in favour of positive female labor supply effects through programs targeting 3 to 6 year old children. It remains a question whether these results extend to programs for 1 to 2 years old.  Second, most of the literature focuses on the extensive or intensive margin, where the intensive margin is measured as hours of work per week. The focus in this study is on the intensive margin taking account of flexible work arrangements.