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<p>While evidence on the effects of publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) on maternal employment remains mixed, little is known about its broader impacts on families’ economic well-being. This study examines the effects of New York City’s <i>3-K for All</i> (3 K) initiative—a universal pre-K program for 3-year-olds—on maternal employment, income-to-needs ratio, and material hardship. Leveraging the staggered rollout of 3 K across school districts, I employ a difference-in-differences framework and event-study design using data from the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker (2017–2023), a longitudinal survey of NYC families with young children. In the full sample, 3 K availability was associated with a 3.9–percentage point increase in maternal employment and a 7.8–percentage point reduction in material hardship, with effects concentrated when children were age-eligible for 3 K. No detectable effects were found on the income-to-needs ratio. Subgroup analyses reveal that partnered families experienced increases in maternal employment and reductions in material hardship. Several other subgroups—low-income families, families with younger children, and U.S.-born parents—also experienced declines in material hardship, even in the absence of statistically significant gains in employment or income. These findings suggest that universal pre-K can enhance families’ consumption-based well-being through multiple pathways, not limited to increases in maternal labor supply or family income.</p>

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The effects of universal pre-kindergarten for three-year-old children on mothers’ employment and families’ economic well-being

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月16日

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  • Eunho Cha

摘要

While evidence on the effects of publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) on maternal employment remains mixed, little is known about its broader impacts on families’ economic well-being. This study examines the effects of New York City’s 3-K for All (3 K) initiative—a universal pre-K program for 3-year-olds—on maternal employment, income-to-needs ratio, and material hardship. Leveraging the staggered rollout of 3 K across school districts, I employ a difference-in-differences framework and event-study design using data from the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker (2017–2023), a longitudinal survey of NYC families with young children. In the full sample, 3 K availability was associated with a 3.9–percentage point increase in maternal employment and a 7.8–percentage point reduction in material hardship, with effects concentrated when children were age-eligible for 3 K. No detectable effects were found on the income-to-needs ratio. Subgroup analyses reveal that partnered families experienced increases in maternal employment and reductions in material hardship. Several other subgroups—low-income families, families with younger children, and U.S.-born parents—also experienced declines in material hardship, even in the absence of statistically significant gains in employment or income. These findings suggest that universal pre-K can enhance families’ consumption-based well-being through multiple pathways, not limited to increases in maternal labor supply or family income.