Receiving childcare help from grandparents has a positive and significant impact on mothers’ labour force participation in some countries (Bulgaria, Germany and Hungary) but not in others. Findings thus suggest a complex interaction between formal and informl childcare, national context, and fertility decisions. Moreover, controlling for the endogeneity of grandparents’ childcare provision through the use of instrumental variables reveals considerable biases as compared to a “naive” probit model.
Estimated marginal effect of grandparents’ childcare provision on mothers’ labour supply a
Source: Aassve, A., Arpino, B., Goisis, A. (2012). Grandparenting and mothers’ labour force participation : a comparative analysis using the Generations and Gender Survey. Demographic Research. 27, 3: 53—84.
a: Estimated with a bivariate probit model, marginal effects after controlling for age, education, number and age of children.
– statistically not significant result; 
– statistically significant result
