Spanish Mothers’ Labour Supply and Child Care Demand: A Structural Model

Abstract

In this paper we present a structural utility discrete choice model to estimate mothers’labour supply and child care demand in Spain. The mothers are assumed to make choices from a finite set of job possibilities and childcare options. Based on data from the Spanish Time Use Survey, we have estimated a mixed logit model. Our results indicate that Spanish mothers show clear preferences for income and pure leisure. Also, in average, mothers present a relative dislike for non-parental modes of care compared to maternal care. Finally, the child’s age is a significant source of preference heterogeneity.