Jorge Rodríguez, researcher at the Human Development Lab, participated in the Sixth World Labor Conference, organized by the Society of Labor Economists (SOLE), held in Toronto, Canada, on June 27–28. He presented his paper “Maternal Labor Supply, Children’s Cognitive Development, and the Welfare Effects of Childcare Policies”, which examines the intersection of female labor force participation and early childhood development.
“The feedback was very positive, especially regarding the methodology we propose,” said Rodríguez. He also emphasized the importance of these events for “positioning the research among peers working on similar topics, which helps to increase its visibility and impact.”
The study highlights the need to address maternal employment and child development together, areas that are often discussed separately in both academic research and public debate. “In Chile, for example, the recent discussion around the universal daycare law revealed how these goals are sometimes seen as conflicting,” he noted.
Rodríguez’s study contributes to early childhood policy design in two important ways. First, it shows that bringing public preschools closer to households increases enrollment, though the effect is modest, suggesting that improving access must go hand in hand with efforts to address the barriers and perceptions that influence families’ decisions. Second, it introduces a conceptual and empirical framework to assess early education expansion policies by weighing their social costs and benefits. This approach, Rodríguez argues, offers valuable guidance for policymaking not only in Chile, but also in other similar settings across Latin America.
The Sixth World Labor Conference, hosted by the Society of Labor Economists (SOLE), brought together researchers from around the world to discuss advances in labor economics. The 2025 edition was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from June 27 to 29.
