The employment effects of family policies depend on the mother’s labor market attachment and on the age of the child. We study the effects of child home care (cash-for-care) and private day care allowances on mothers’ return to employment after childbirth. Our identification strategy exploits changes in municipal-level subsidies. We find that higher private day care allowances have no effect while higher home care allowances increase the length of home care. A 100-euro higher level of home care allowance prolongs home care by 2–3 months, on average. The home care allowance combined with low labor market attachment and low earnings potential pre-birth delay the return to employment. However, the effect of the allowance diminishes over time. Higher subsidies have no impact by the time a child turns two. Reductions in subsidies stimulate a faster return to employment.

家庭政策对就业的影响取决于母亲对劳动力市场的依恋以及孩子的年龄。我们研究了儿童家庭护理（现金换护）和私人日托补贴对母亲分娩后重返工作的影响。我们的识别策略利用了市政级补贴的变化。我们发现，较高的私人日托津贴没有影响，而较高的家庭护理津贴则增加了家庭护理的时间。平均100欧元的家庭护理补贴水平可使家庭护理平均延长2-3个月。家庭护理津贴加上劳动力市场依恋度低和潜在的低出生前出生率延迟了重返工作岗位。但是，津贴的影响会随着时间的推移而减弱。到孩子两岁时，更高的补贴没有影响。