Working for Yourself or for Your Kids?: Childcare Expansion Policy in Uzbekistan
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Washington, DC: World Bank
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In developed countries, public
childcare programs have increased maternal employment by
easing time constraints. However, their impact in
lower-middle-income settings with multigenerational
households is less understood. In Uzbekistan, for instance,
many households include multiple adult women, such as
grandmothers and aunts, who traditionally do not work and
can provide informal childcare, potentially lowering the
demand for public services. This paper examines the effects
of a recent preschool expansion policy (2018–22) on women’s
labor market participation in this context. To assess the
policy’s causal impact, the paper utilizes variations in
childcare coverage across districts over time. The results
show that the childcare expansion policy led to a 12 percent
average increase in female labor supply, with the strongest
effects observed for families that value education but face
financial constraints. In contrast, the availability of
informal caregivers does not decrease the policy’s effect.
These findings challenge the idea that time constraints are
the primary mechanism linking childcare expansion to women’s
employment. Instead, in this context, economic
factors—especially the need to afford childcare costs—emerge
as the main drivers.
Palabras clave
DECENT WORK, ECONOMIC GROWTH, GENDER AND EMPLOYMENT, CHILDCARE