摘要：

This study attempts to provide a theoretical and empirical framework for investigating the effects of child care costs and other variables on fertility and employment decisions. The approach is to specify a life cycle model of fertility and employment decisionmaking that incorporates child care costs. Analysis of the model yields predictions concerning the effects of child care costs on fertility and employment timing. A sample of labor market and birth histories is used to estimate empirically the effects of child care costs on the time of fertility and employment decisions. 1 of the strengths of the data set used is that several explicit measures of child care costs are available. The empirical analysis is reduced form in nature but is closely related to the theoretical model. The empirical results reveal that child care costs have significant effects on both fertility and employment timing and that these effects often are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model. Higher child care costs raise the birthrate for employed women although the effect is small and insigifnicant and reduce it for nonemployed women. The effect for nonemployed women is contrary to the theoretical model which predicts that higher child care costs would increase the birthrate of nonemployed women. Hiomen. High child care costs also increase the rate of leaving employment and reduce the rate of entering employment. Both effects are statistically significant and consistent with the theory. The empirical analysis provides some evidence that child care costs influence the timing and spacing of births as well as employment decisions. As more women enter the labor force child care is likely to become an increasingly more important public policy issue. The study results suggest that potential behavioral effects should be considered when alternative child care policies are being debated.

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