This research explores the links between childcare arrangements and work outcomes among dual earner couples. The goal is to examine the effects of responsibility for child care arrangements on the productivity, work commitment, labor supply, and earnings of both men and women in dual-earner households. The study will utilize data from a longitudinal study of 1972 high school seniors, last interviewed in 1986. The study draws on economic theory regarding the houshold division of labor and structural constraints at home and at work to test specific hypotheses within a more sociological framework. Central hypotheses concern the role of intervening mechanisms by which responsibility for child care arrangements affects work outcomes. For example, its negative effects should be greater in jobs that have greater opportunities for advancement. Previous studies of childcare responsibilities have focused exclusively on women; this study broadens the scope to look at both men and women in dual-earner families. The project will make a real contribution to the literature linking family responsibilities to work outcomes.
