Jobs in the Balance - The Two-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund - Final Report - May 2024

Oct 15, 2026

Final report examining the two-year labor market impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. The study presents research design and methods, uses a synthetic control approach to construct a counterfactual Washington, DC, and reports benchmark results comparing observed outcomes to the synthetic control. Robustness checks evaluate sensitivity through leave-one-out procedures, backdated treatment tests, single-outcome specifications, and alternative handling of outcome demeaning, followed by key conclusions and implications for future directions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages59

Reading Time2 h 29 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Executive Summary

Research design

Summary of findings

Introduction

Background and policy context

The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund

Prior research on CCEE educator wage boost initiatives

Road map for the rest of this report

Data Source and Research Methods

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

Description of the study counties and measures

Multiple-outcome synthetic control framework

Findings from the Benchmark Analysis

The synthetic Washington, DC

Differences between Washington, DC, and its synthetic control

Statistical significance of treatment effects

Findings from the Robustness Checks

Leave-one-out

Backdated treatment

Single outcome

No demeaning

Conclusions

Key findings

Robustness checks

Implications and future directions

References

Jobs in the Balance: The Two-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund Final Report May 2024 Owen Schochet This page has been left blank for double-sided copying. Jobs in the Balance: The Two-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund Final Report May 28, 2024 Owen Schochet Submitted to: Cameron Clark, Program Officer Bezos Family Foundation Kimberly Perry, Executive Director DC Action Submitted by: Owen Schochet, Project Director Mathematica 1100 First Street, NE, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20002-4221 Phone: (202) 484-9220 This report is in the public domain. Permission to reproduce is not necessary. Suggested citation: Schochet, O. “Jobs in the Balance: The Two-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. Final Report” Mathematica, May 2024. Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Bezos Family Foundation or DC Action. This report is available at [http://www. mathematica.org](http://www. mathematica.org). This page has been left blank for double-sided copying. Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. viii Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................................... x A. Research design............................................................................................................................................................................ x B. Summary of findings.................................................................................................................................................................. xi I. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 A. Background and policy context.............................................................................................................................................. 1 B. The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund .............................................................................................................. 3 C. Prior research on CCEE educator wage boost initiatives .............................................................................................4 D. Road map for the rest of this report .................................................................................................................................... 6 II. Data Source and Research Methods .............................................................................................................................................. 7 A. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.........................................................................................................7 B. Description of the study counties and measures............................................................................................................8 C. Multiple-outcome synthetic control framework .......................................................................................................... 10 III. Findings from the Benchmark Analysis....................................................................................................................................... 15 A. The synthetic Washington, DC ............................................................................................................................................ 15 B. Differences between Washington, DC, and its synth

FAQs

What policy intervention does the report evaluate?

The report evaluates the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund in Washington, DC, focusing on its two-year labor market impacts on educator wages and related outcomes.

How does the report estimate impact over the two-year period?

It uses a multiple-outcome synthetic control framework to construct a counterfactual “synthetic Washington, DC” and compares differences between the observed city and its synthetic control.

What robustness checks are included to test the findings?

The report includes leave-one-out analysis, backdated treatment tests, single-outcome specifications, and a “no demeaning” approach, each used to assess sensitivity of treatment effects.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery