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Single Mothers Working at Night: Standard Work, Child Care Subsidies, and Implications for Welfare Reform

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  • Erdal Tekin

    (Georgia State University and NBER)

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of child care subsidies on the standard work decision of single mothers and examines whether this effect differs between welfare recipients and nonrecipients. The analysis uses data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Results suggest that child care subsidy receipt is associated with a 6.9 percentage point increase in the probability of single mothers' working at standard jobs. When the effect of subsidy receipt is allowed to differ between welfare recipients and nonrecipients, results indicate that welfare recipients who are offered a child care subsidy are 14 percentage points more likely to work at standard jobs than others. Among nonrecipients, child care subsidy receipt increases standard work probability by only 1.8 percentage point. These findings underscore the important role of child care subsidies in helping low income parents, especially welfare recipients, find jobs with conventional or standard schedules. The results also lend support to the policy of giving priority to welfare recipients for child care subsidies. Results are found to be robust to several specification checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Erdal Tekin, 2004. "Single Mothers Working at Night: Standard Work, Child Care Subsidies, and Implications for Welfare Reform," Upjohn Working Papers 05-113, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:upj:weupjo:05-113
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chris Herbst, 2010. "The labor supply effects of child care costs and wages in the presence of subsidies and the earned income tax credit," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 199-230, June.
    2. Mandler, Martin, 2009. "In search of robust monetary policy rules - Should the Fed look at money growth or stock market performance?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 345-361, June.
    3. Hélène Périvier, 2008. "L'impact de la Maternité sur l'Activité des Femmes aux Etats-Unis," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 51(2/3), pages 221-242.
    4. Hélène Périvier, 2008. "L’impact de la maternité sur l’activité des femmes aux Etats-Unis," Post-Print hal-03461894, HAL.
    5. Herbst, Chris M. & Tekin, Erdal, 2012. "The geographic accessibility of child care subsidies and evidence on the impact of subsidy receipt on childhood obesity," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 37-52.
    6. Robert J. Lemke & Robert Witt & Ann Dryden White, 2007. "The Transition from Welfare to Work," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 359-373, Summer.
    7. Herbst, Chris M. & Tekin, Erdal, 2010. "Child care subsidies and child development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 618-638, August.
    8. Hélène Périvier, 2008. "L’impact de la maternité sur l’activité des femmes aux Etats-Unis," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/9882, Sciences Po.
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/9882 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Hélène Périvier, 2008. "L’impact de la maternité sur l’activité des femmes aux Etats-Unis," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03461894, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child Care Subsidies; Standard work; Welfare; Single Mother; Upjohn; Institute;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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