The Expansion of Low-Cost, State-Subsidized Childcare Availability and Mothers’ Return-to-Work Behaviour in East and West Germany

Abstract

This study investigates whether increased availability of low-cost, state-subsidised childcare for underthree-year-olds in Germany is associated with shorter employment interruptions amongst mothers. By focusing on a major childcare reform in East and West Germany, we examine the effect in two contexts that differ markedly in the acceptance and use of formal childcare and maternal employment. We combine rich longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (2006 to 2014) with annual administrative county-level data on the availability of low-cost, state-subsidised childcare, estimating event history models. The results indicate that increased childcare availability for underthree-year-olds reduces mothers' employment interruptions, particularly after a second childbirth, and increases the probability of returning to part-time or full-time employment as opposed to marginal employment. Furthermore, increased availability of low-cost, state-subsidised childcare increases mothers' likelihood of returning to employment in the second year after childbirth, when paid leave entitlements expire and the availability of childcare becomes important. However, our results are only statistically significant for West German mothers and only after the birth of a second child. The study extends the literature on women's return-to-work behaviour by providing evidence on the mediumterm impact of family policy on the duration of mothers' employment interruptions.

Public childcare provision and employment participation of East and West German mothers with different educational backgrounds

“…Consequently, childcare is likely to become important only after family planning is complete, particularly with respect to full-time employment. This is supported by previous research showing a more pronounced and persistent two-child norm (Diabaté and Ruckdeschel, 2017), a tight spacing of two to four years between a first and second child (Kreyenfeld, 2008), as well as a more pronounced association between childcare and shorter employment interruption durations among West German mothers with a second birth (Zoch and Hondralis, 2017).…”

What Do Migrants Know About Their Childcare Rights? A First Exploration in West Germany

“…In contrast to countries where childcare is organised privately (for example, the Netherlands, Switzerland, or the UK), childcare in Germany is considered a public good. As a result, childcare costs are comparatively low due to government-based subsidies (OECD 2016b) which lower financial barriers particularly for low-income parents (Zoch and Hondralis 2017) and increase the likelihood for female participation in the labour market (Morrissey 2017). Parents receiving social assistance, for example, do not have to pay anything for childcare.…”

Warum Mütter wechseln, wenn sie bleiben könnten?Der Einfluss betrieblicher Merkmale auf Arbeitgeberwechsel von Müttern nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes

“…Bisherige Forschung hat sich deshalb stark darauf konzentriert, Einflussfaktoren auf die Dauer familienbedingter Erwerbsunterbrechungen zu identifizieren und konnte zeigen, dass sowohl individuelle Charakteristika der Mutter (Ziefle 2009;Grunow et al 2011;Drasch 2013) als auch der Haushaltskontext eine entscheidende Rolle spielen (Ziefle 2009;Grunow & Aisenbrey 2016). Zahlreiche Studien setzen sich außerdem mit dem Einfluss der vorherrschenden Gesetzgebung und der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen, wie dem Elterngeld oder Änderungen in der Kinderbetreuungsstruktur, auseinander (Grunow et al 2011;Ziefle & Gangl 2014;Zoch & Hondralis 2017). Auch hier konnten zentrale Zusammenhänge mit der Dauer familienbedingter Erwerbsunterbrechungen nachgewiesen werden.…”