Abstract
Background: Chile is a paradoxical case in its economic performance in recent decades. Although this country has implemented significant pro-market modernization reforms, it has an unexpectedly low female participation rate, wasting a vital source of economic growth. Several studies indicate that the cause of this low female labor participation in Chile would be a low conciliation between labor and family life. This experience is an important lesson for other developing economies that want to implement similar reforms. Methodology: In this article, we estimate a general equilibrium model by using Bayesian econometrics to quantify the effects of work-family conciliation at the aggregated level, through the effect of childcare. Results: Taking the case of Chile, we estimate important gains in increasing conciliation levels due to an increase in productivity rather than an increase in the labor supply. Conclusions: The main economic policy consequence for other developing or emerging economies is that higher levels of conciliation have important effects on economic activity, exceeding the financing costs.
| Translated title of the contribution | Macroeconomics and family conciliation: The economic impact of childcare |
|---|---|
| Original language | Spanish |
| Pages (from-to) | 543-582 |
| Number of pages | 40 |
| Journal | Trimestre Economico |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue number | 339 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jul 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Actualmente, el beneficio de sala cuna es otorgado por instituciones pri-vadas y por organismos que reciben financiamiento estatal, como son la Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (Junji) y Fundación Integra (artículo 203, Código del Trabajo, 2003). En específico, para las empresas privadas, el costo es asumido por el empleador, quien puede cumplir con esta obliga-ción de tres maneras: o crea y mantiene una sala cuna anexa e independiente de los lugares de trabajo; o bien, construye o habilita y mantiene servicios comunes de sala cuna con otros establecimientos de la misma área geográ-fica, o, finalmente, paga de manera directa los gastos de sala cuna al estable-
Funding Information:
con base en información del Ministerio de Educación de Chile (2011), el INE y el Banco Central de Chile, de la siguiente forma:
