The Effect of Maternal Labor Force Participation on Child Development

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne James‐Burdumy
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Maternal Labor Force Participation

To Work or Not to Work? Child Development and Maternal Labor Supply

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Frijters ◽  
David W Johnston ◽  
Manisha Shah ◽  
Michael A Shields
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Poor Child ◽  
Maternal Labor Supply ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Instrumental Variables Approach ◽  
Maternal Labor Force Participation

We estimate the effect of early child development on maternal labor force participation. Mothers of poorly developing children may remain at home to care for their children. Alternatively, mothers may enter the labor force to pay for additional educational and health resources. Which action dominates is the empirical question we answer in this paper. We control for the potential endogeneity of child development by using an instrumental variables approach, uniquely exploiting exogenous variation in child development associated with child handedness. We find that a one unit increase in poor child development decreases maternal labor force participation by approximately 10 percentage points. (JEL J13, J16, J22)

Maternal Labor Force Participation and Child Well-Being in Public Assistance Families

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 520-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Secret ◽  
Claudia Peck-Heath
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force ◽  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Public Assistance ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Maternal Labor Force Participation

This study investigated the relationship between maternal labor force participation and the general health and school performance of school-age children in public assistance families. Data were obtained from face-to-face interviews with 97 mothers drawn froma random sample of public assistance recipients in one community. Using a measure of maternal labor force participation over the course of several years, logistic regression analysis revealed positive, but complex, relationships. Children whose mothers had recent, current, or long-term employment were in better health than children whose mothers had been unemployed for more than 2 years. Children’s school performancewas positively associated with either long-term unemployment or long-term employment, suggesting that the stability of maternal labor force participation, rather than work status per se, was an important factor. The study maintains a needed focus on child outcomes and provides an important conceptualization of maternal labor force participation for use in future welfare reform studies.

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