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Care, Time Use and Work

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Loews Philadelphia, Adams
Hosted By: Union for Radical Political Economics & International Association for Feminist Economics
  • Chair: Elissa Braunstein, Colorado State University

Child Care as a Component of Sustainable Economic Development

Ellen Mutari
,
Stockton University

Abstract

By enhancing the quality of life in local communities, child care is one component of efforts to create sustainable communities that support intergenerational well-being. This, in turn, attracts families to move into, and businesses to relocate to, the local communities. This paper will summarize a policy analysis of child care as one component of a sustainable economic development strategy for Atlantic City, New Jersey, as the city tries to transition from dependency on casino gaming. It estimates the current contributions of this sector to the Atlantic City economy (including multiplier effects) and makes recommendations for how it might be expanded.

Reproductive Labor in a Participatory Economy

Peter Bohmer
,
Evergreen State University
Savvina Chowdhury
,
Evergreen State University
Robin Hahnel
,
Willamette University

Abstract

The vision or model of a desirable alternative to capitalism called a “participatory economy” has been proposed, compared to other post-capitalist visions, criticized, and defended for over twenty-five years. However, proponents have written little about how reproductive activity might be organized, carried out, and compensated in such an economy. This article spells out how reproductive or caring labor might be organized, carried out, and compensated in a participatory economy, and discusses the pros and cons of some different options.

The Time and Consumption Poverty of Employed Individuals in Ghana

Ajit Zacharias
,
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Thomas Masterson
,
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Fernando Rios-Avila
,
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Kijong Kim
,
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Tamar Khitarishvili
,
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College

Abstract

This study presents the application to the case of Ghana of a methodology for a two-dimensional poverty measure that takes both necessary consumption as well as the required household production needed to achieve a minimum living standard into account. The official poverty lines in Ghana and other countries assume that all households and individuals have enough time to adequately attend to the needs of household members. However, some individuals may not have sufficient time and they thus experience "time deficits." If a household experiencing a time deficit cannot afford to cover it by buying market substitutes (e.g., hiring a care provider), that household will enjoy a standard of living below that supposedly reflected in the official poverty measures. We show results of our estimates of the Levy Institute Measure of Time and Consumption Poverty (LIMTCP) for working individuals in Ghana, as well as the results of an employment simulation for individuals in poor households.

Social Disadvantage and Child Health Among China's Rural-urban Migrant Households

Carl Lin
,
Bucknell University and IZA
Yana Rodgers
,
Rutgers University

Abstract

This study uses migrant household survey data from 2008 and 2009 to examine how social disadvantage among rural-urban migrant households affects the nutritional status of children who migrate with their parents and those who are left behind. Results indicate that China’s hukou system of household registration – designed to limit domestic migration flows by denying public services in cities to residents with rural hukou – has a negative and statistically significant effect on children’s weight-for-age Z-scores, even after controlling for a full set of socioeconomic status indicators and household characteristics. The hukou effect does not impact children’s height-for-age Z-scores (an indicator of longer-term nutritional status), suggesting that rural-urban households are resilient in the longer term. Tests for gender-based discrimination indicate that children in female-headed households do not appear to suffer from any nutritional penalty relative to children in households headed by men, while girl children do exhibit poorer nutritional status compared to boy children.
Discussant(s)
Thomas Masterson
,
Levy Institute
Ellen Mutari
,
Stockton University
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics
  • B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches