The demand for child care services in Canada.

Since the Second World War, the labour force participation of women has increased significantly in industrial countries. Various factors such as an increase in the age of marriage and/or child-bearing have contributed to this change in the participation rate of women. One factor has been the increased willingness of mothers of pre-school children to have someone else care for them during working hours. The determinants of this demand for day care have not, however, been examined in detail. We are aware of only one study (Robins and Speigelman, 1978) that addresses this issue. This may be due to the lack of data. However, the recent availability of data collected in a survey undertaken in 1981 by Statistics Canada made it possible to examine the determinants of the demand for day care in Canada, thus allowing us to contribute additional evidence to an area little studied up to date.
This analysis focuses on the determinants of the demand for child care services. This demand, however, is usually the result of a mother's decision to participate in activities outside the home, particularly the decision to participate in the labour force. Hence, when discussing the determinants of the demand for child care, one is also examining, in part, the decision to participate in the labour force. The choice between care in a day care centre and care in a home being distinguished will also be examined.
This paper is divided as follows. In Section I, the analytical framework is established and the major factors that influence the demand for child care services are discussed. In Section II, the data and the variables used in the estimations of the model are specified. In Section III, the empirical results are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]