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Author: Russo, Anna
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Russo, Anna
A Head Start for the Whole Family: Assessing the Labor Supply Response of Mothers of Head Start Participants
Senior Essay, Department of Economics, Yale University, 2017
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Department of Economics, Yale University
Keyword(s): Geocoded Data; Head Start; Labor Force Participation; Maternal Employment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Childcare programs have the potential to benefit both children, through cognitive development, and parents, by lessening the burden of childcare. This paper is one of the first to study the impact of Head Start, a preschool program serving nearly one million low-income children in the United States, on the parents of participants. Using discontinuities in the eligibility requirements of Head Start, I provide the first evidence that Head Start has a positive causal effect on the labor market participation of the mothers of Head Start children. I find that Head Start increases mothers' hours worked per week, probability of employment, and probability of an income increase. These effects are large in magnitude and particularly strong for black families who exhibit greater take-up rates of the program.
Bibliography Citation
Russo, Anna. "A Head Start for the Whole Family: Assessing the Labor Supply Response of Mothers of Head Start Participants." Senior Essay, Department of Economics, Yale University, 2017.