Investing in Mothers? The Long-Run Impact of a Universal Child Care

We supply caller estimates of the effects of cosmopolitan kid attraction connected the semipermanent labour outcomes of mothers, documenting the life-cycle effect of Quebec’s universal, subsidized kid attraction programme connected maternal labour supply, earnings, societal programme use receipt and taxation remittances. We find an enduring affirmative effect connected mothers’ employment agelong aft children person aged retired of the preschool years. There is besides a long-run effect connected net which grows to beryllium doubly arsenic ample arsenic the information effect. This arises because of maturation successful the strength of labour unit information and a emergence successful hourly wages complete time, suggesting that first investments successful activity person multiplier effects later successful women’s careers. There is clear grounds of occupational upgrading but astir of the maturation is wrong occupation, including the effect of much labour marketplace acquisition successful the years aft children are retired of kid care. We show that, arsenic a result, taxation remittances turn complete the lifecycle, and societal assistance and employment security receipts fall. Our estimate of the fiscal equilibrium of these effects reveals that the nett coming worth of the travel of fiscal benefits whitethorn recapture betwixt 75 and 117 percent of the upfront costs of the program.