Mother's time allocation, childcare and child cognitive development

This paper analyzes the effects of maternal and non-parental time on a child's cognitive development. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we estimate a model that allows the mother’s time productivity to depend on her education level, and that distinguishes between formal and informal care. The results show that child-care time of high-educated mothers is more productive than that of low-educated mothers and that of non-parental care. The simulation of policies subsidizing mothers’ wages or regulating the non-parental care market indicates that children with low-educated mothers benefit more from replacing maternal time with non-parental time.