Effects of child care prices on women's labor force participation in Russia

The paper models household demand for child care, mothers' labour force participation and working hours, in Russia. The model estimates the effects of the price of child care, mother's wage, and household income on household behaviour and well-being.

The results of the analysis indicate that mothers' labour force participation and working hours are responsive to the price of child care and hourly wages. The simulations presented in this paper show that family allowances - intended as a means of reducing poverty - do not have a significant effect on the household choice of child care arrangements. Replacing family allowances with child care subsidies may have a strong positive effect on women's labour force participation and thus can be effective in reducing poverty.