Purchased child care, optimal family size and mother's employment Theory and econometric analysis
Abstract
This paper develops a model of family size decisions in which couples choose explicitly a combination of mother's time and purchased childcare (childminder, nanies) for the care and rearing of children. The theoretical model implies that the impact of the mother's wage on her complete fertility varies with the market price of childcare, and that this effect increases (becoming less negative or more positive) with the level of her wage. Econometric analysis of British micro-data confirms the main predictions of the model.
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Ample evidence supports a positive direct effect of income, as increases in male earnings lead to higher fertility in settings in which childcare is mostly performed by women.
“ample evidence supports a positive direct effect of income, as increases in male earnings lead to higher fertility in settings in which childcare is mostly performed by women (Ermisch 1989, Heckman &Walker 1990).”
From Fertility in High-Income Countries: Trends, Patterns, Determinants, and Consequences (2024) · cites this paper as Ermisch 1989
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References 11 · Cited by 165
- Authors
- Ermisch, J. F.
- Affiliations
- National Institute of Economic and Social Research (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ermisch, John F.
- ORCID
- Ermisch, John F.
- Venue
- Journal of Population Economics
- Published
- 1989
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 79-102
- ISSN
- 0933-1433 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-1475
- OpenAlex
- W1987270212
- Cited by
- 165
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 5.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Population Economics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Keywords
- fertility, mother's employment, childminders, nannies, time allocation, parenting
- MeSH terms
- Behavior, Child Care, Child Rearing, Demography, Economics, Employment, Europe, Family Characteristics, Fertility, United Kingdom, Health Workforce, Income, Models, Theoretical, Population, Population Dynamics, Research, Salaries and Fringe Benefits, Socioeconomic Factors, Models, Economic, Developed Countries
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