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Mothers' Work and Child Care: Findings from the Urban Slums of Guatemala City

Author

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  • Hallman, Kelly
  • Quisumbing, Agnes R
  • Ruel, Marie
  • de la Briere, Benedicte

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of labor force participation and child care utilization of mothers in the slums of Guatemala City. Data come from a survey in 1999 of 1,300 randomly selected mothers with preschool children, out of whom 37% worked for pay in the last 30 days. Results show that education, life cycle, and household demographic factors affect work and child care decisions. Higher household wealth reduces the mother's chances of being in the labor force but does not significantly affect hours worked. The value of assets the mother brought to her marriage, however, increases the likelihood of working for pay. Fees and travel time for child care do not have significant influences on the type of child care used or mothers' labor force participation, but hours worked decrease with higher formal day care prices. This suggests that interventions to reduce the price of formal day care in poor urban areas may have the potential to increase the labor hours of mothers residing in such neighborhoods.

Suggested Citation

  • Hallman, Kelly & Quisumbing, Agnes R & Ruel, Marie & de la Briere, Benedicte, 2005. "Mothers' Work and Child Care: Findings from the Urban Slums of Guatemala City," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(4), pages 855-885, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:y:2005:v:53:i:4:p:855-85
    DOI: 10.1086/427458
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    Cited by:

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    2. Inés Berniell & Lucila Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & María Edo & Mariana Marchionni, 2021. "Motherhood and flexible jobs," Working Papers 93, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    3. 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, November.
    4. Juan Carlos Campaña & J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal, 2024. "Gender Gaps in Commuting Time: Evidence from Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 596-620, September.
    5. Fábio Augusto Reis Gomes & Ari Francisco de Araujo Junior & Márcio Antônio Salvato, 2006. "Mortalidade Infantil No Brasil E No Sudeste: Determinantes E Perspectivas Para O Futuro," Anais do XII Semin·rio sobre a Economia Mineira [Proceedings of the 12th Seminar on the Economy of Minas Gerais], in: João Antonio de Paula & et alli (ed.),Anais do XII Seminário sobre a Economia Mineira [Proceedings of the 12th Seminar on the Economy of Minas Gerais], Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    6. Nakahara, Shinji & Poudel, Krishna C. & Lopchan, Milan & Poudel, Om Raj & Poudel-Tandukar, Kalpana & Ichikawa, Masao, 2010. "Differential effects of out-of-home day care in improving child nutrition and augmenting maternal income among those with and without childcare support: A prospective before-after comparison study in ," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 16-25, September.
    7. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Juliana Yael Milovich, 2019. "The Impact of the Expansion of African Palm Crop on Child Undernutrition in South-West Guatemala," Working Papers hal-04141876, HAL.
    9. Juan Carlos, Campaña & J. Ignacio, Giménez-Nadal & Jose Alberto, Molina, 2017. "Differences between self-employed and employed mothers in balancing family and work responsibilities: Evidence from Latin American countries," MPRA Paper 77964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Nobuhiko FUWA & Seiro ITO & Kensuke KUBO & Takashi KUROSAKI & Yasuyuki SAWADA, 2006. "Introduction To A Study Of Intrahousehold Resource Allocation And Gender Discrimination In Rural Andhra Pradesh, India," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 44(4), pages 375-397, December.
    11. Santiago Garganta & Joaquín Zentner, 2020. "Efecto de la Doble Escolaridad sobre la Participación Laboral Femenina en República Dominicana," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4348, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    12. Ana Dammert, 2010. "Siblings, child labor, and schooling in Nicaragua and Guatemala," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 199-224, January.
    13. Yasuyuki SAWADA & Kensuke KUBO & Nobuhiko FUWA & Seiro ITO & Takashi KUROSAKI, 2006. "On The Mother And Child Labor Nexus Under Credit Constraints: Findings From Rural India," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 44(4), pages 465-499, December.
    14. 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.
    15. Juliana Yael Milovich Finkelstein, 2019. "The Impact of the Expansion of African Palm Crop on Child Undernutrition in South-West Guatemala," EconomiX Working Papers 2019-22, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    16. repec:idb:brikps:362 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Juan Carlos, Campaña & J. Ignacio, Giménez-Nadal & Jose Alberto, Molina, 2017. "Self-employment and educational childcare time: Evidence from Latin America," MPRA Paper 77360, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Vardan Baghdasaryan & Gayane Barseghyan, 2024. "Child care fee abolition and female labor supply: Quasi‐experimental evidence from a developing country," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 299-338, January.
    19. Juan Carlos Campaña & J. Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina, 2020. "Self-employed and Employed Mothers in Latin American Families: Are There Differences in Paid Work, Unpaid Work, and Child Care?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 52-69, March.
    20. Sara Stevano & Suneetha Kadiyala & Deborah Johnston & Hazel Malapit & Elizabeth Hull & Sofia Kalamatianou, 2019. "Time-Use Analytics: An Improved Way of Understanding Gendered Agriculture-Nutrition Pathways," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 1-22, July.

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