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The Rug Rat Race

Author

Listed:
  • Valerie Ramey

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Garey Ramey

    (University of California, San Diego)

Abstract

After three decades of decline, the amount of time spent by parents on childcare began to rise dramatically in the mid-1990s. Moreover, the rise in childcare time was particularly pronounced among college-educated parents. Why would highly educated parents increase the amount of time they allocate to childcare at the same time that their own market returns have skyrocketed? After finding no empirical support for standard explanations, such as selection or income effects, we offer a new explanation. We argue that increased competition for college admissions may be an important source of these trends. The number of college-bound students has surged in recent years, coincident with the rise in time spent on childcare. The resulting “cohort crowding” has led parents to compete more aggressively for college slots by spending increasing amounts of time on college preparation. Our theoretical model shows that, since college-educated parents have a comparative advantage in college preparation, rivalry leads them to increase preparation time by a greater amount than less-educated parents.

Suggested Citation

  • Valerie Ramey & Garey Ramey, 2009. "The Rug Rat Race," 2009 Meeting Papers 431, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed009:431
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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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