Lack of adequate childcare is a main reason women cite for not participating in the labor force. We investigate the effect of a reform that lengthened school schedules from half to full days in Chile – essentially providing zero-cost... more
Lack of adequate childcare is a main reason women cite for not participating in the labor
force. We investigate the effect of a reform that lengthened school schedules from half to full
days in Chile – essentially providing zero-cost childcare – on different maternal labor
participation outcomes. We identify the effect of the policy from its implementation across
municipalities over time and rule out alternative explanations, finding evidence of positive and
important effects on participation and more permanent attachment to the labor force.
Additionally, we also find results are driven by the provision of full day schooling in 1st and 2nd
grades.
Social relationships are pivotal for human beings. Yet, we still lack a complete understanding of the types and conditions of social relationships that facilitate learning among children. Here, we present the results of a study involving... more
Social relationships are pivotal for human beings. Yet, we still lack a complete understanding of the types and conditions of social relationships that facilitate learning among children. Here, we present the results of a study involving 855 elementary school children from 14 different public schools in Chile designed to understand their social learning strategies in classrooms. We mapped students' social relationships using a behavioral experiment--a non-anonymous social dilemma--that allows us to measure cooperation and infer reciprocal and asymmetrical relationships between peers. We implemented the experiment synchronously in each classroom using networked tablets and a friendly user interface to mitigate cognitive barriers and boost students' engagement. We found a positive and significant association between reciprocity and academic performance using regression models. This result holds after controlling for class attendance, sex, parents' education, social status,...
