Three essays in Health and Labour Economics

This thesis contains three studies that focus on childcare availability, maternal labour supply and children’s health. Chapter 1 analyses the impact of extending childcare availability on maternal labour outcomes in Russia. I exploit a substantial variation in childcare availability across regions over time. Based on survey data linked to administrative data on the number of enrolled children at each age in every region, I find that an increase in childcare availability has a positive and significant effect on maternal employment both at the intensive and the extensive margins. I also find that the effect of childcare availability on labour force participation of single mothers is significantly lower than on mothers with partners. Chapter 2 investigates the effect of maternal employment on childhood obesity in Russia. I use a plausibly exogenous variation in childcare availability for the youngest child in the household as an instrumental variable for maternal employment to estimate the effect of maternal employment on the weight outcomes of older children. The results show that maternal employment leads to an increase in children’s BMI z-score and probabilitiesto becomeoverweightand obese. Exploring potential underlying mechanisms, I find that maternal employment is related to less physical activity and poorer dietary habits. Chapter 3 estimates whether providing parents information about the weight status of their child has its intended effects –increasing physical activity, reducing sedentary activity, increasing consumption of healthy food and consequently reducing obesity rates –or whether it has unintended consequences. Based on the National Child Measurement Programme, we find that in the short-run feedback letters do not reach their intended effects, but instead cause adverse effects such as a tendency to skip breakfast and feeling tired and unhappy at school among overweight children, especially among overweight children from low socio-economic background.