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Maquiladoras and market mamas: women's work and childcare in Guatemala City and Accra

Author

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  • Quisumbing, Agnes R.
  • Hallman, Kelly
  • Ruel, Marie T.

Abstract

"This study analyzes work, childcare arrangements, and earnings of mothers in the poor neighborhoods of Guatemala City and Greater Accra, Ghana, two urban areas where formal- and informal-sector work differ in importance. Unlike previous studies on childcare that take mother's work status as given, this paper treats childcare choice and labor force participation of women as joint decisions. Our empirical results indicate that participation in the labor market and use of formal day care are, in fact, jointly determined. In both Guatemala and Accra, life cycle and household demographic factors, notably child age, appear to have important effects on both decisions. In both cities, higher household wealth reduces the mothers' chances of working, presumably via an income effect. Controlling for endogeneity of labor market participation and formal day-care use, in Guatemala, day-care prices do not have significant impacts on earnings; neither does the number of day-care centers within a 10-minute walk affect earnings in Accra. In Guatemala, maternal education is an important determinant of utilization of formal day care, but does not have large effects on whether she works for pay or not. In contrast, in Accra, maternal education does not affect either the demand for formal care or the decision to work. In Guatemala, greater travel time from home to the day-care center reduces utilization of this type of care, but a larger supply of day-care centers in the community does not affect use of formal care in Accra. The lack of importance of formal day-care supply variables in Accra compared to the effect of some variables such as travel time to day-care centers in Guatemala suggests that provision of formal day care may not be as critical an intervention to increase mothers' labor force participation rates in cities where the informal sector dominates, such as in Accra. In more urbanized settings like Guatemala City, where the formal sector generates a higher proportion of jobs for women, formal day care is more important to mothers' decision to work." Author's Abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Hallman, Kelly & Ruel, Marie T., 2003. "Maquiladoras and market mamas: women's work and childcare in Guatemala City and Accra," FCND discussion papers 153, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:153
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ahiadeke, Clement & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Levin, Carol E. & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Morris, Saul Sutkover & Ruel, Marie T., 2000. "Urban livelihoods and food and nutrition security in Greater Accra, Ghana:," Research reports 112, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Levin, Carol E. & Ruel, Marie T. & Morris, Saul S. & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Ahiadeke, Clement, 1999. "Working Women in an Urban Setting: Traders, Vendors and Food Security in Accra," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1977-1991, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Finlay, Jocelyn E., 2021. "Women’s reproductive health and economic activity: A narrative review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Fenglian Du & Xiao-yuan Dong, 2013. "Women's Employment and Child Care Choices in Urban China during the Economic Transition," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(1), pages 131-155.
    3. Calderón Gabriela, 2014. "The Effects of Child Care Provision in Mexico," Working Papers 2014-07, Banco de México.
    4. Vegas, Emiliana & Santibáñez, Lucrecia, 2010. "The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 362.
    5. Dessy, Sylvain & Marchetta, Francesca & Pongou, Roland & Tiberti, Luca, 2020. "Climate Shocks and Teenage Fertility," GLO Discussion Paper Series 490, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Emiliana Vegas & Lucrecia Santibáñez, 2010. "The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 9385, September.
    7. repec:idb:brikps:362 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Todd, Petra E., 2012. "Effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving women's employability and quality of work : a critical review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6189, The World Bank.
    9. Shelley Clark & Caroline W. Kabiru & Sonia Laszlo & Stella Muthuri, 2019. "The Impact of Childcare on Poor Urban Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1247-1272, August.
    10. Sarah Gammage, 2015. "Labour market institutions and gender equality," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 12, pages 315-339, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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