Investing In Public Preschool, Supporting Working Mothers?: The Labor Market Effects of State Pre-K Funding

Motivation
Over the past two decades, public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) has expanded substantially by most measures, including state investments and enrollment rates (Moran et al., 2026; Friedman-Krauss et al., 2025). Yet there is limited comprehensive evidence on whether increased funding for state pre-K programs translates into improved labor market outcomes for mothers nationwide. While prior research has largely focused on discrete policy adoptions in specific city or states (e.g., universal pre-K expansions), less is known about the marginal effects of continuous increases in state pre-K funding, and whether such investments meaningfully support maternal employment and family resources at the national level.

Methods
This study examines the labor market effects of state pre-K funding using nationally representative data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2001 to 2023. We exploit variation in state-level pre-K spending per four-year-old, measured using data from the National Institute for Early Education Research. Our primary specification employs a triple-difference (difference-in-difference-in-differences; DDD) design comparing mothers of pre-K-eligible children (ages 4–5) to mothers of slightly older children (ages 6–7), who are exposed to similar state-level conditions but are not directly affected by pre-K funding changes. Outcomes include maternal employment, weekly work hours, and annual earnings. Downstream effects on the income-to-needs ratio and food insecurity are also examined.

Results
Increases in state pre-K funding are associated with modest improvements in maternal labor supply. . A $1,000 increase in pre-K funding per four-year-old is associated with a robust 0.3–0.6 percentage-point increase in employment, with some evidence of an increase in weekly work hours and in annual earnings. Supporting mechanism analyses suggest that increased funding leads to small increases in public preschool enrollment and full-day program enrollment.

Implications
The findings suggest that increased public investment in pre-K modestly supports maternal employment, highlighting the role of early education policy in supporting mothers' work lives.