Work

Fertility, Employment, and Child-Care Costs

Year: 1989

Type: article

Abstract: A sample of labor-market and birth histories is used to estimate the effects of child-care costs on employment and fertility decisions. A reduced-form empirical analysis is performed, which is based on hazard functions for transitions among various fertility--employment states. Higher child-care costs result in a lower birth rate for nonemployed women but not for employed women. Higher child-care costs also lead to an increase in the rate of leaving employment and a reduction in the rate of entering employment. The results suggest that potential behavioral effects of child-care subsidies could be significant and should be taken into account when alternative child-care policies are being debated.

Source: Demography

DOI: 10.2307/2061526

Authors: David M. Blau, Philip K. Robins

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Miami

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development