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After-School Care and Maternal Income in Quebec

Introduction

Starting in 1998, the province of Quebec, Canada allowed any school to introduce a subsidized after-school program that would be offered to any family at a cost of 5 CAD a day. He et al. (2024) examines the impact this reform has on employment income for mothers with children in primary school. The paper uses a triple-difference approach to estimate the effects by comparing outcomes between mothers and childless women, Quebec and other Canadian provinces, and before and after the policy. The paper finds that this policy had growing positive effects in the years following its introduction and increased average annual employment income for mothers of primary age children by 11 percent in 2008.

Pays for Itself

Net Cost

The paper calculates the net impact on the Quebec government budget by considering the direct costs of subsidizing after-school care as well as the increase in taxes collected on additional employment income earned due to the program. The Quebec government spent 1.28 billion CAD to subsidize after-school care over the period 1999-2008. The average treatment effect on provincial taxes collected is 385 CAD. Since there were approximately 400,000 women with primary-aged children over these ten years, the paper estimates that the provincial government earned an additional 385*400,000*10 = 1.54 billion CAD. Thus, the paper finds that the net cost to the Quebec government is negative.

$<0.0 Net Cost

Willingness to Pay

The paper assumes a positive willingness-to-pay for the subsidized after-school care.

$>0.0 WTP

MVPF Summary

A positive willingness-to-pay and a negative government cost implies an infinite MVPF for subsidized after-school programs in Quebec.

MVPF

References

He, Ailin, Laëtitia Renée, Nagham Sayour (2024). “The Impact of After-School Care on Maternal Income: Evidence from Canadian Administrative Data.” Working Paper. https://www.laetitiarenee.com/files/After_school_care.pdf.

Policy Features

Category: Social Insurance
Beneficiary Type(s): Adults, Mothers and pregnant women
Average Age: 46
Average Income: 38,147
Country of Implementation: Canada
Year of Implementation: 1998
Empirical Method: Difference in Differences
Research Type: Primary
Peer Reviewed: No
MVPF Publication Link: www.laetitiarenee.com/files/After_school_care.pdf