Child-Care Expenditures and Women' s Employment Turnover

Previous studies addressing the issue of child-care constraints on women's employment have drawn on specialized samples or used cross-sectional designs. Using the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation, this study draws a 1985 sample of employed women paying for child care. After correcting for selection bias, I used logistic regression analysis to predict the log odds of quitting work by 1986. Weekly child-care payments were a significant predictor of employment turnover. In addition, the effect of child-care expenditures: (1) was stronger for mothers of preschool-aged children, (2) did not vary by the woman's wage, and (3) was not associated with transitions between full- and part-time work statuses.