Family Proximity, Childcare, and Women's Labor Force Attachment

Compton, Janice; Pollak, Robert

Family Proximity, Childcare, and Women's Labor Force Attachment

No 17678, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We show that close geographical proximity to mothers or mothers-in-law has a substantial positive effect on the labor supply of married women with young children. We argue that the mechanism through which proximity increases labor supply is the availability of childcare. We interpret availability broadly enough to include not only regular scheduled childcare during work hours but also an insurance aspect of proximity (e.g., a mother or mother-in-law who can provide irregular or unanticipated childcare). Using two large datasets, the National Survey of Families and Households and the public use files of the U.S. Census, we find that the predicted probability of employment and labor force participation is 4-10 percentage points higher for married women with young children living in close proximity to their mothers or their mothers-in-law compared with those living further away.

JEL-codes: J13 J20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-lab and nep-lma
Note: LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

Published as Compton, Janice & Pollak, Robert A., 2014. "Family proximity, childcare, and womenâs labor force attachment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 72-90.

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Journal Article: Family proximity, childcare, and women’s labor force attachment (2014)
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