Needs or obligations? The influence of childcare infrastructure and support norms on grandparents’ labour market participation

Abstract

This study investigates how institutional and normative characteristics affect grandparents’ labour market participation. Previous studies indicate that providing regular grandchild care reduces labour market participation, and this linkage varies between European welfare states. Yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and no study has systematically disentangled cultural from institutional influence when investigating grandparents’ work–care reconciliation. Based on two mechanisms, needs and obligations, we investigate how (grandparental) support norms and childcare infrastructure jointly shape the labour market participation of active grandparents. We use six waves from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), investigating variation across 91 subnational regions in 18 countries. The results indicate that the regular provision of grandchild care increases the risk of exiting the labour market for both men and women. This linkage is stronger in contexts with stronger support norms, but also depends on the childcare infrastructure in contexts where norms are weaker.

Adjustments in women's labour force participation in response to the deterioration of the labour market situation of the male partner

“…Given the limited possibility of non-standard employed men to substitute women in childcare, we argue that women with young children might rely on informal or formal childcare to enable them to increase the time they spend in paid work. Previous studies have extensively documented the importance of informal (Wheelock and Jones, 2002) and formal (Scherer and Pavolini, 2023) childcare for women's labour force participation. Thus, our results suggest that women's labour supply response to men's non-standard employment might be moderated by childcare availability, which should be explored by future research.…”

“…In general, mothers are more likely to be inactive or to work a reduced number of hours than men and women without kids (Cukrowska-Torzewska and Matysiak 2020, Matysiak and Cukrowska-Torzewska 2021). Previous studies have demonstrated that, in general, mothers are more likely to be in the labour force in regions or countries with better childcare availability (Scherer and Pavolini, 2023).…”

Gendered life courses and cognitive functioning in later life: the role of context-specific gender norms and lifetime employment

“…Such benefits are likely reinforced when individuals occupy high social status, interact frequently and high levels of well-being. Several studies show that the well-being and labour market consequences of caregiving differ according to the normative context (Verbakel 2014;Bertogg 2022). We assume that: H5 ("punishment") In contexts with stronger gender norms, individuals whose employment biography deviates from normative ideals (i.e.…”

The Nordic Model: Capable of Responding to the Social Side of Crises and Sustaining Social Investment?

“…High quality ECEC -for children up to the age of three -enables women and men to participate in the labour market during periods of childrearing while investing in children's ability to learn and to play (Borchorst, 2012;Lundqvist, 2017;Morgan, 2022;Scherer and Pavolini, 2023). ECEC in the Nordic countries is considered a flagship of the social investment state -focusing on skills development throughout the lifecourse -due to its rights-based universal availability, with guaranteed placement for all children and high quality of integrated care and education services.…”