Job market paper

The Long-term Effects of After-school Care

I investigate the long-term effects of after-school childcare on children's human capital investment. I study a 2007 Dutch reform that expanded childcare subsidies to increase maternal employment, and build a 20-year panel with administrative data to track cohorts from childhood through adulthood. Exploiting cohort exposure and subsidy changes, I show that while maternal employment did not change, after-school care use increased, raising children's university graduation rates by 8%. I find that this impact results from changing beliefs and preferences rather than cognitive skills, as math scores remain unchanged. The impact is strongest among students facing the highest university access costs, particularly girls from low-educated families. Survey data explains why: the reform normalized mothers using childcare to work, increasing expected returns from university for girls. I show that the reform increased exposure to peers from high-SES families in after-school care centers, potentially driving these changes.

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