IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/reveho/v11y2013i4p545-561.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Working mothers’ decisions on childcare: the case of Spain

Author

Listed:
  • María Suárez

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze household decisions regarding the childcare of young children. We present two specifications. The first one assumes a sequential decision process. Firstly, parents choose between paid or unpaid care and, secondly, those who opt for paid childcare must decide whether to take their children to a nursery or pre-school or employ somebody to care for them. The second specification is a multinomial Logit in which it is assumed that parents choose from three alternatives: unpaid care, paid care by a nanny, and center-based care. We apply our models to a sample of working mothers with children under three. The database used is the 2008–2010 Spanish Survey of Quality of Working Life (Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo). The results are in line with previous work: Parental education, family composition, income and the characteristics of the mother’s job are important factors in determining the type of childcare chosen for under-three-year-olds. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • María Suárez, 2013. "Working mothers’ decisions on childcare: the case of Spain," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 545-561, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:11:y:2013:i:4:p:545-561
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-013-9189-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11150-013-9189-6
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11150-013-9189-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan Duncan & Chris Giles, 1996. "Should we subsidise childcare, and if so, how?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 39-62, August.
    2. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    3. Gary S. Becker & H. Gregg Lewis, 1974. "Interaction between Quantity and Quality of Children," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 81-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Rachel Connelly & Jean Kimmel, 2003. "Marital status and full-time/part-time work status in child care choices," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 761-777.
    5. Erdal Tekin, 2007. "Childcare Subsidies, Wages, and Employment of Single Mothers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(2).
    6. 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 558-597, July.
    7. García-Mainar, Inmaculada & Molina, José Alberto & Montuenga, Víctor M., 2009. "Intra-Household Time Allocation: Gender Differences in Caring for Children," IZA Discussion Papers 4188, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Hans G. Bloemen & Silvia Pasqua & Elena G. F. Stancanelli, 2008. "An Empirical Analysis Of The Time Allocation Of Italian Couples: Are Italian Men Irresponsive?," CHILD Working Papers wp18_08, CHILD - Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic economics - ITALY.
    9. Lisa M. Powell, 2002. "Joint Labor Supply and Childcare Choice Decisions of Married Mothers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(1), pages 106-128.
    10. Cristina Borra, 2010. "Childcare cost and Spanish mother’s labour force participation," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 194(3), pages 9-40, October.
    11. Daniela Del Boca & Marilena Locatelli & Daniela Vuri, 2005. "Child-Care Choices by Working Mothers: The Case of Italy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 453-477, December.
    12. Fernandez, Cristina & Sevilla-Sanz, Almudena, 2006. "Social norms and household time allocation," IESE Research Papers D/648, IESE Business School.
    13. Sandra L. Hofferth & Douglas A. Wissoker, 1992. "Price, Quality, and Income in Child Care Choice," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(1), pages 70-111.
    14. Henry Ohlsson & Michael Lundholm, 2002. "Who takes care of the children? The quantity-quality model revisited," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(3), pages 455-461.
    15. 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, September.
    16. David M. Blau & Alison P. Hagy, 1998. "The Demand for Quality in Child Care," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(1), pages 104-146, February.
    17. Rachel Connelly & Jean Kimmel, 2009. "Spousal influences on parents’ non-market time choices," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 361-394, December.
    18. Cristina Borra & Luis Palma, 2009. "Child Care Choices in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 323-338, December.
    19. Edwin van Gameren & Ingrid Ooms, 2009. "Childcare and labor force participation in the Netherlands: the importance of attitudes and opinions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 395-421, December.
    20. Hans Bloemen & Silvia Pasqua & Elena Stancanelli, 2010. "An empirical analysis of the time allocation of Italian couples: are they responsive?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 345-369, September.
    21. Ainhoa Herrarte & Julián Moral-Carcedo & Felipe Sáez, 2012. "The impact of childbirth on Spanish women’s decisions to leave the labor market," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 441-468, September.
    22. Alan Duncan & Gillian Paull & Jayne Taylor, 2001. "Mothers' employment and the use of childcare in the UK," IFS Working Papers W01/23, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    23. Bridget G. Hiedemann & Jutta M. Joesch, 2002. "The demand for nonrelative child care among families with infants and toddlers: A double-hurdle approach," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(3), pages 495-526.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vincenzo Galasso & Paola Profeta & Chiara Pronzato & Francesco Billari, 2017. "Information and Women’s Intentions: Experimental Evidence About Child Care," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 109-128, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edwin van Gameren, 2013. "The Role of Economic Incentives and Attitudes in Participation and Childcare Decisions," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 296-313, September.
    2. Carlin, Caroline & Davis, Elizabeth E. & Krafft, Caroline & Tout, Kathryn, 2019. "Parental preferences and patterns of child care use among low-income families: A Bayesian analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 172-185.
    3. Cristina Borra, 2010. "Childcare cost and Spanish mother’s labour force participation," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 194(3), pages 9-40, October.
    4. Y.E. Akgündüz & J. Plantenga, 2015. "Childcare Prices and Maternal Employment: a Meta-Analysis," Working Papers 15-14, Utrecht School of Economics.
    5. Cristina Borra & Luis Palma, 2009. "Child Care Choices in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 323-338, December.
    6. Yusuf Emre Akgunduz & Janneke Plantenga, 2018. "Child Care Prices And Maternal Employment: A Meta†Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 118-133, February.
    7. Müller, Kai-Uwe & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2020. "Does subsidized care for toddlers increase maternal labor supply? Evidence from a large-scale expansion of early childcare," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Guyonne Kalb, 2009. "Children, Labour Supply and Child Care: Challenges for Empirical Analysis," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 42(3), pages 276-299, September.
    9. Thoresen, Thor O. & Vattø, Trine E., 2019. "An up-to-date joint labor supply and child care choice model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 51-73.
    10. Cristina Borra Marcos, 2006. "Female labour participation and child care choices in Spain," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2006/16, Centro de Estudios Andaluces.
    11. Patricia Apps & Jan Kabátek & Ray Rees & Arthur Soest, 2016. "Labor supply heterogeneity and demand for child care of mothers with young children," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1641-1677, December.
    12. 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, September.
    13. Xiaodong Gong & Robert Breunig, 2017. "Childcare Assistance: Are Subsidies or Tax Credits Better?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 38, pages 7-48, March.
    14. Daniela Del Boca, 2015. "Child Care Arrangements and Labor Supply," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 88074, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Tekin, Erdal, 2005. "Child care subsidy receipt, employment, and child care choices of single mothers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 1-6, October.
    16. Kabátek, Jan, 2015. "Essays on public policy and household decision making," Other publications TiSEM 8cdb178e-ad98-42e5-a7e1-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    17. Kurowska, Anna & Myck, Michal & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2012. "Family and Labor Market Choices: Requirements to Guide Effective Evidence-Based Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 6846, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. David Blau, 2003. "Child Care Subsidy Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, pages 443-516, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Edwin van Gameren & Ingrid Ooms, 2009. "Childcare and labor force participation in the Netherlands: the importance of attitudes and opinions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 395-421, December.
    20. Wrohlich, Katharina, 2006. "Labor Supply and Child Care Choices in a Rationed Child Care Market," IZA Discussion Papers 2053, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Childcare choice; Probit with selection; Multinomial Logit; J13; C25;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:11:y:2013:i:4:p:545-561. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.