Dissertation

Three Essays on Publicly Funded Pre-kindergarten Programs

Recent Publications

"Impact of the expanded child tax credit and its expiration on adult psychological well-being" with Jiwan Lee and Stacie Tao (2023, Social Science & Medicine) 

This study examines the impact of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act on adult psychological well-being in the U.S. Using the Household Pulse Survey, we applied a difference-in-difference approach to assess the effects of the expanded CTC and its expiration on psychological distress among adults in households with children, with a focus on gender, education, marital status, and race/ethnicity. Results show the expanded CTC significantly reduced mild psychological distress, particularly among female, single, married, and Hispanic adults. However, no significant effects were found on moderate or severe distress, which may require more extensive interventions. After the CTC payments ended, there was an increase in moderate to severe psychological distress.

"Children’s time use patterns and subjective well-being in Asian countries" with Joan P. Yoo (2024, Child Indicators Research)

This study explores the relationship between children’s time use patterns and their subjective well-being across six emerging Asian economies. Using data from the third wave of the International Survey of Child Well-Being, Latent Profile Analysis identified distinct time use patterns based on 14 out-of-school activities among children in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The analysis revealed four to six unique patterns per country, with a common group of children less engaged in activities across all contexts. In countries with high mobile device penetration, children involved in a wide range of activities reported higher well-being than those with sedentary lifestyles. Conversely, in countries with lower device penetration, physical and social activities were linked to higher well-being. 

Manuscripts in Progress

"Parental job loss and children’s socioemotional behavioral development during COVID-19: Evidence from New York City" with Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Jane Waldfogel.

The surge in unemployment following the onset of COVID-19 exposed thousands of children to the experience of parental job loss. This study examines how parental job loss during COVID-19 affected the socioemotional development of preschool children, with a focus on the differential implications of a father’s versus a mother’s job loss. Using data from the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker (ECPT), which follows children's socioemotional development from pre-pandemic 2019 through the early and middle phases of the pandemic (2020–2021), we find that a father’s job loss is significantly associated with increased socioemotional problems in children, even after controlling for their pre-pandemic socioemotional status. In contrast, no consistent evidence was found linking a mother’s job loss to similar negative outcomes. Additionally, the adverse effects of a father’s job loss are more pronounced in boys than in girls. Mechanistic analyses suggest that a father’s job loss is associated with reduced family income and diminished parent-child activities, which may explain these gendered effects. These findings highlight the unique and detrimental impact of a father’s job loss on early childhood socioemotional development, possibly reflecting traditional gender norms that expect fathers to be the primary economic providers.

"Contexts Matter: The Role of Family Policy in Shaping Fertility and Women's Labor Force Participation across OECD Countries" with Stacie Tao and Kun Lee. (Under Review)

As women have become increasingly active participants in the labor market over recent decades, societal fertility rates are likely influenced by how compatible work and family life are. This study examines the role of family policies in reconciling women's work and childbearing across different institutional contexts. We use country-level panel data from 32 OECD countries, spanning 1980 to 2020, and apply two-way fixed effects and lagged dependent variable models. Our analysis focuses on the effects of overall family policy expenditures and three specific subcategories—parental leave, child allowances, and early childhood education and care—on total fertility rates (TFR) and female labor force participation rates (LFPR). The results show that TFR generally increases with higher family policy spending, particularly in Anglophone, Nordic, Western European, and Southern European countries. However, the association between family policy spending and female LFPR varies considerably depending on the policy regime. In Central and Eastern European and East Asian countries, family policy spending is significantly and consistently associated with higher female LFPR, while the association is less consistent in other regions. These findings underscore the importance of institutional contexts in achieving the dual goals of increasing fertility and female employment through family policies.