The Effects of a Mother’s Return to Work Decision on Child Development in the Uk*

The last 20 years has seen a huge increase in employment among mothers in the first year after giving birth in the UK. We examine whether early maternal employment has an adverse effect on child outcomes. We analyse rich data from a cohort of children born in the UK in the early 1990s and examine the impact of early maternal employment on three outcome variables measuring child cognitive development between four and seven years of age. We also explore whether the effect varies with the mother’s educational attainment, lone parent status or the type of replacement non-maternal childcare used.