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Child Care Costs and the Employment Status of Married Australian Mothers

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Author Info
Anu Rammohan
Stephen Whelan
Abstract

Using data from the HILDA (Household Income and Labour Dynamics), this paper examines the implications of child care costs on maternal employment status by distinguishing between full-time and part-time work. Our empirical approach uses an ordered probit model taking into account the endogeneity associated with both wages and child care costs. Results indicate that child care costs have a statistically insignificant effect on the decision to work either full time or part time. Moreover, the reported elasticities of part-time and full-time work with respect to child care costs are relatively low. This suggests that the significant subsidies paid to users of child care may have a limited role in increasing the labour market activity of married mothers.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 517.

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Length: 27 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:auu:dpaper:517

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Related research
Keywords: female labour supply; child care; part-time; full-time;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Philip K. Robins & Charles Michalopoulos, 2002. "Employment and child-care choices of single-parent families in Canada and the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 465-493. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Lundhlom, M. & Ohlsson, H., 1998. "Who Takes Care of the Children? The Quantity-Quality Model Revisited," Papers 1998:23, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    Other versions:
  3. Deborah Schofield & Josh Polette, 1998. "Measuring the Impact of Child Care Subsidies on the Incomes of Mothers Returning to Work," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 31(1), pages 47-62. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Andren, Thomas, 2003. "The choice of paid childcare, welfare, and labor supply of single mothers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 133-147, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Deborah Cobb-Clark & Amy Liu & Deborah Mitchell, 1999. "Reassessing the Role of Child Care Costs in the Work and Care Decisions of Australian Families," CEPR Discussion Papers 409, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. [Downloadable!]
  6. Blau, David M & Robins, Philip K, 1988. "Child-Care Costs and Family Labor Supply," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(3), pages 374-81, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Ribar, David C, 1995. "A Structural Model of Child Care and the Labor Supply of Married Women," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 558-97, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Charles Michalopoulos & Philip K. Robins, 2000. "Employment and child-care choices in Canada and the United States," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 33(2), pages 435-470, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Rachel Connelly & Jean Kimmel, 2003. "Marital status and full-time/part-time work status in child care choices," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 761-777, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Denise Doiron & Guyonne Kalb, 2005. "Demands for Child Care and Household Labour Supply in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 81(254), pages 215-236, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Connelly, Rachel, 1992. "The Effect of Child Care Costs on Married Women's Labor Force Participation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(1), pages 83-90, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Miller, Carole F, 1993. "Part-Time Participation over the Life Cycle among Married Women Who Work in the Market," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 91-99, January.
  13. Jean Kimmel, 1998. "Child Care Costs As A Barrier To Employment For Single And Married Mothers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(2), pages 287-299, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Productivity Commission, 2005. "Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia," Labor and Demography 0506001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  15. Powell, Lisa M, 1998. "Part-Time versus Full-Time Work and Child Care Costs: Evidence for Married Mothers," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 503-11, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Lisa M. Powell, 1997. "The Impact of Child Care Cost on the Labour Supply of Married Mothers: Evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 30(3), pages 577-94, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Blank, Rebecca M, 1989. "The Role of Part-Time Work in Women's Labor Market Choices over Time," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 295-99, May.
  18. Elisa-Rose Birch, 2005. "Studies of the Labour Supply of Australian Women: What Have We Learned?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 81(252), pages 65-84, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Guyonne Kalb & Wang-Sheng Lee, 2007. "Childcare Use and Parents’ Labour Supply in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2007n13, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
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