TY  - JOUR
AB  - Public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) is primarily designed as an educational policy for young children but has attracted attention as a potential lever to support maternal employment. This study provides national evidence on the maternal labor market effects of state pre-K funding, exploiting variation in public investment across states and over time (academic years 2002-2024). Using a triple-difference design that compares mothers of pre-K-age children to mothers of slightly older children across states and years, we find consistent evidence across two independent national surveys: a $1,000 increase in per-child pre-K funding is associated with a robust 0.3–0.6 percentage-point increase in maternal employment, with some evidence of an increase in weekly work hours and in annual earnings. Subgroup-specific estimates are largely consistent in magnitude but reveal larger employment responses among mothers with young children and among socioeconomically advantaged mothers (partnered, college-educated, higher-income). Together, the findings suggest that public investments in early education can yield modest but robust labor market benefits for mothers.
AU  - Cha, Eunho
AU  - Rosengarten, Mindy L.
AU  - Watts, Tyler W.
AU  - Dodge, Kenneth A.
AU  - Jenkins, Jade M.
PY  - 2026
ST  - The Maternal Labor Market Effects of State Pre-K Funding
TI  - The Maternal Labor Market Effects of State Pre-K Funding
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1514
ER  -