Child care and female employment decisions: A theoretical note

The empirical literature is divided over the issue of whether child care costs are a significant barrier to female employment. In this paper we develop a theoretical model that contributes to the literature (1) by allocating mother's time between work, leisure and child care and (2) by introducing the possibility of uncertainty in second period income because of a greater probability of divorce. We examine how these changes affect decisions on labour supply and purchase of child care. We show that although an increase in the price of child care reduces the demand for child care, it has an ambiguous impact on female employment decisions. From a policy point of view, this implies that government subsidies aimed at mitigating the cost of child care, may not have their desired impact in encouraging greater female labour force participation. However, an increase in the probability of child care unambiguously increases female labour supply and purchase of child care.childcare; female labour supply

Demand for Microcredit by Indonesian women

The poverty alleviating benefits of gender-targeted microcredit programs has successfully been demonstrated in South Asia. In this paper, we examine the demand for credit by Indonesian women, in the absence of such a targeted microcredit program. We argue that when credit markets are imperfect and there are informational asymmetries, it is important to take into account the possibility that individuals may have no knowledge of or be unwilling to borrow due to constraints. Our results show that selection bias cannot be neglected, and ignoring double-selection may lead to an underestimation of loan demand by nearly one hundred percent. We find that given knowledge of credit facilities, women in female-headed households, and better networked women are more likely to borrow.Indonesia; microcredit; women

The Interaction of Child-labour and Schooling in Developing Countries: A Theoretical Perspective

This paper analyses the interaction between child labour and schooling in developing countries. A theoretical framework is developed, where fertility and schooling decisions are made in an environment where children contribute through child labour when young and provide old-age security as adults. The model demonstrates that the child wage rate, which is also the opportunity cost of schooling, is a crucial determinant of total fertility. An increase in the child wage rate leads to lower schooling investments and higher fertility levels. However, changes in schooling costs have no impact on fertility decisions. They only affect the allocation of children¡¯s time between schooling and child labour.

Child Care Costs and the Employment Status of Married Australian Mothers

Using data from the HILDA (Household Income and Labour Dynamics), this paper examines the implications of child care costs on maternal employment status by distinguishing between full-time and part-time work. Our empirical approach uses an ordered probit model taking into account the endogeneity associated with both wages and child care costs. Results indicate that child care costs have a statistically insignificant effect on the decision to work either full time or part time. Moreover, the reported elasticities of part-time and full-time work with respect to child care costs are relatively low. This suggests that the significant subsidies paid to users of child care may have a limited role in increasing the labour market activity of married mothers.female labour supply, child care, part-time, full-time

Gender Differences in Schooling Attainment: The Role of Sibling Characteristics and Birth Order Effects

This paper uses a using a nationally representative dataset to show that gender, birth order and sibling characteristics have significant effects on the schooling attainment of Egyptian children. Our analysis finds that relative to a male child, female and rural children are not only less likely to have the right schooling for age, but birth order and sibling characteristics also affect these two groups more adversely. Our empirical results show that schooling outcomes are better for earlier born (lower birth order) children, particularly for females and rural children. For example, a female child who is third in the birth order is approximately 40% less likely to have attained the right schooling for age, worsening with each increase in birth order. However, male and urban children are unaffected by birth order and sibling characteristics, the only exception being male children born sixth or higher in the birth order. Furthermore, we see that an increase in sibship size is associated with lower schooling attainment for the last born school-age child across all our samples. Finally, we see that with the exception of rural females, the sibling size effect is somewhat mitigated for the oldest school-age child having younger sisters rather than brothersEgypt; schooling; gender; birth order

The Determinants of Schooling in Egypt: The Role of Gender and Rural-Urban Residence

This paper examines the role of gender and rural-urban residence, and the interaction between them in influencing schooling outcomes, using household level cross-section data from Egypt. Our empirical analysis finds strong evidence for the hypothesis that being male and living in urban areas significantly improves schooling outcomes. We show that relative to a female child who is ‘never enrolled' in school, a male child is nearly twice as likely to be currently attending school, and over two and a half times more likely to have some schooling. Interestingly, the adverse effect of gender is greater in rural areas, with urban location increasing the odds of female children being currently enrolled. Finally, we find that female headship reduces the likelihood of a favorable schooling outcome for females and children living in rural areas.Egypt; schooling; gender; rural-urban differences

The Role of Family Networks and Gender on Borrowing Behavior in Indonesia

In this paper, we use the nationally representative Indonesian Family Life Survey dataset (IFLS-3), to examine if access to loans from informal networks such as family and friends influences borrowing behavior in formal credit markets. Our empirical results show that there is a gender dimension to borrowing behavior, with females being more likely to receive loans from family members. However, access to loans from family does not lower their propensity to seek out formal credit. For males, access to family loans does not affect borrowing propensity but it increases the size of borrowing from the formal sector. From a policy perspective, our results indicate that education plays an important role in improving an individual's access to financial credit markets and reducing their dependence on internal networks

mRNA expression profile of serotonin receptor subtypes and distribution of serotonergic terminations in marmoset brain

To better understand serotonin function in the primate brain, we examined the mRNA expression patterns of all the 13 members of the serotonin receptor (5HTR) family, by in situ hybridization and the distribution of serotonergic terminations by serotonin transporter (SERT) protein immunohistochemical analysis. Ten of the 13 5HTRs showed significant mRNA expressions in the marmoset brain. Our study shows several new features of the organization of serotonergic systems in the marmoset brain. (1) The thalamus expressed only a limited number of receptor subtypes compared with the cortex, hippocampus, and other subcortical regions. (2) In the cortex, there are layer-selective and area-selective mRNA expressions of 5HTRs. (3) Highly localized mRNA expressions of 5HT1F and 5HT3A were observed. (4) There was a conspicuous overlap of the mRNA expressions of receptor subtypes known to have somatodendritic localization of receptor proteins with dense serotonergic terminations in the visual cortex, the central lateral nucleus of the thalamus, the presubiculum, and the medial mammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus. This suggests a high correlation between serotonin availability and receptor expression at these locations. (5) The 5HTRs show differences in mRNA expression pattern between the marmoset and mouse cortices whereas the patterns of both the species were much similar in the hippocampus. We discuss the possible roles of 5HTRs in the marmoset brain revealed by the analysis of their overall mRNA expression patterns

Food Consumption Patterns and Malnourished Indian Children: Is there a Link?

Despite its economic success, India has made little progress towards meeting its Millennium Development Goal targets of reducing undernourishment, particularly among children. Using nationally representative data, our analysis finds evidence of an improvement in the anthropometric measures of height-for-age, but a worsening in weight-for-height z-scores for children aged 0 – 3 over the period 1998 – 2006. There is also a worsening in both cereal consumption and calorie intake over this period, with some of the most noticeable declines taking place in households with children aged 0 – 3. This suggests a possible link between declining food intake and poor nutritional outcomes of children during this period.India, Weight-for-height, Height-for-age, calorie consumption, expenditure patterns