This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Meyers, M. K. Articles by Durfee, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Who Pays? The Visible and Invisible Costs of Child Care

School of Social Work and Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, 4101 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105; 206-616-4409; mkm36{at}u.washington.edu

Alesha Durfee

Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University

Although the majority of young children now spend time in nonparental child care, we know relatively little about who provides this care and how its costs are distributed among parents, government, and other family members. In this article we use data from a survey of New York City families with children younger than six to estimate the contribution of parental expenditures, government assistance, and the market value of "donated" caregiving time by family, friends, and relatives. We conclude that uncompensated caregivers provide a substantial share of child care that is "invisible" in conventional economic measures.

Key Words: gender • child care • caregiving • social policy • subsidies

Politics & Society, Vol. 34, No. 1, 109-128 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0032329205284759


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?