Abstract
Data from the March 1991Current Population Survey [Bureau of the Census, 1992] were used to investigate the effects of children on single and married mothers' labor force participation decisions. Logit results indicated that for both single and married mothers, an increase in education and market experience increases the probability of market participation while an increase in income has a negative effect on the likelihood of mothers' labor market participation. The number of children present in the household negatively affected participation while an increase in the age of children positively influenced the mother's labor market participation. The spacing effect in the married group and the timing effect in the single group were significant. Furthermore, an increase in the number of older children in the household (between the ages of 12 and 17 years) increased the probability of labor market participation by single mothers but decreased that of married mothers.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Aldrich, J. H.; Nelson, F. D.Linear Probability, Logit, and Probit Models, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1984.
Avioli, Paula Smith. "The Labor-Force Participation of Married Mothers of Infants,"Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 1985, pp. 739–45.
Becker, G. "A Theory of the Allocation of Time,"Economic Journal, 75, 1965, pp. 493–517.
Berger, M. C. Black, D. A. "Child Care Subsidies, Quality of Care, and the Labor Supply of Low-Income, Single Mothers,"Review of Economics and Statistics, 1992, pp. 635–42.
Bryant, W. K.The Economic Organization of the Household, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; 1990.
Bureau of the Census.1990 Census of Population, Social and Economic Characteristics: United States, Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, 1990.
__.Current Population Survey: March 1991 Tape Technical Documentation, Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, 1992.
Chow, G. C.Econometrics, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1983.
Coverman, Shelley; Kemp, Alice Abel. "The Labor Supply of Female Heads of Household: Comparisons with Male Heads and Wives,"Sociological Inquiry, 57, 1987, pp. 32–53.
Cutright, Phillips. "Timing the First Birth: Does it Matter?,"Journal of Marriage and the Family, 35, 1973, pp. 585–95.
Darian, Jean. "Factors Influencing the Rising Labor Force Participation Rates of Married Women with Pre-School Children,"Social Science Quarterly, 56, 1976, pp. 614–30.
Douthitt, R. A.; Zick, C. D.; McCullough, J. "The Role of Economic and Demographic Factors in Explaining Time-Use of Single and Married Mothers,"Lifestyles: Family and Economic Issues, 11, 1, 1990, pp. 23–51.
Garfinkel, Irwin; Orr, Larry L. "Welfare Policy and the Employment Rate of AFDC Mothers,"National Tax Journal, 27, 1974, pp. 275–84.
Gerner, J. L.; Zick, C. D. "Time Allocation Decisions in Two-Parent Families,"Home Economics Research Journal, 12, 2, 1983, pp. 145–58.
Graham, J. W.; Beller, A. H. "The Effect of Child Support Payments on the Labor Supply of Female Family Heads: An Econometric Analysis,"Journal of Human Resources, 24, 4, 1989, pp. 664–88.
Gramm, W. L. "Household Utility Maximization and the Working Wife,"The American Economic Review, 65, 1, 1975, pp. 90–100.
Gronau, R. "The Effect of Children on the Housewife's Value of Time,"Journal of Political Economy, 81, 2, II, 1973, pp. s168-s199.
Hofferth, Sandra L.; Moore, Kristin A. "Early Childbearing and Later Economic Well-Being,"American Sociological Review, 44, 1979, pp. 784–815.
Levy, Frank. "The Labor Supply of Female Household Heads, or AFDC Work Incentives Don't Work Too Well,"The Journal of Human Resources, 14, 1979, pp. 76–97.
Maddala, G. S.Introduction to Econometrics, New York, NY: MacMillan, 1992.
Mauldin, T.; Meeks, C. B. "Time Allocation of One- and Two-Parent Mothers,"Lifestyles: Family and Economic Issues, 11, 1, 1990, pp. 53–69.
Mincer, J. "Labor Force Participation of Married Women," in H. G. Lewis, ed.,Aspects of Labor Economics, Universities National Bureau Conference Series 14, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962.
Ram, B.; Rahim, A. "Enduring Effects of Women's Early Employment Experiences on Child-Spacing: The Canadian Evidence,"Population Studies, 47, 1993, pp. 307–17.
Rexroat, Cynthia. "Race and Marital Status Differences in the Labor Force Behavior of Female Family Heads: The Effect of Household Structure,"Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, August 1990, pp. 591–601.
Sanik, M. M.; Mauldin, T. "Single Versus Two Parent Families: A Comparison of Mothers' Time,"Family Relations, 35, 1986, pp. 53–6.
Schultz, T. P. "Testing the Neoclassical Model of Family Labor Supply and Fertility,"Journal of Human Resources, 25, 4, 1990, pp. 599–634.
Stolzenberg, Ross M.; Waite, Linda J. "Local Labor Markets, Children and Labor Force Participation of Wives,"Demography, 21, 1984, pp. 157–70.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, C.F., Xiao, J.J. Effects of birth spacing and timing on mothers' labor force participation. Atlantic Economic Journal 27, 410–421 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02298337
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02298337
Keywords
- Timing Effect
- Labor Force Participation
- 1991Current Population
- Population Survey
- Single Mother