The Value of Employer‐Sponsored Child Care to Employees

This article uses the contingent valuation method for calculating the value of employer‐sponsored child care to employees. Like many environmental amenities, there may be a nonuse or existence value of working for a company that offers employer‐sponsored child care (ESCC), as well as a use value to parents who have children in the center. We test this hypothesis using data from three firms, two of which have on‐site child care. Our findings indicate that price is a determinant of willingness to pay for the continued existence or establishment of an on‐site center. We find evidence of the existence value, even for employees without young children, and a greater valuation among recent hires than among longer‐term employees.