Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/250512 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14851
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We examine the relationship between parenting activities and center-based care using time diary and survey data for mothers in Germany. While mothers using center-based care spend significantly less time in the presence of their child, we find that differences in the time spent on specific activities such as reading, talking, and playing with the child are relatively small or zero. The pattern of results is more pronounced for lower education mothers. The lack of large decreases in activities are explained by two factors: (i) that center care replaces time that parents spend with the child but are doing other things such as housework or leisure (a small direct effect), and (ii) that evenings become relatively more activity-rich (a compensating indirect effect). For the intensive margin (full-day vs. half-day) we find more additional reductions in parenting activities, but these are compensated for by lower education mothers during non-center hours. Our findings represent novel evidence that activities in the home environment are a complement to center-based care, highlighting a credible additional mechanism for child development effects of center-based care.
Subjects: 
child care
child development
time use
parenting investments
Oster method
JEL: 
D13
I21
J13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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