Who cares? Childcare support and women’s labor supply in Hong Kong

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Ratio of Female to Male Labor Force Participation Rate in Hong Kong Population Aged 25–54, GHS 1985–2020.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for selected variables by the developmental stage of the youngest child, HKPSSD 2011–2018.

	No children	The Developmental stage of the youngest child
		Infant/ Toddler (0–2)	Pre-schooler (3–6)	Grade-schooler (7–12)	Teen (13–18)
Women’s labor supply
Labor force participation	87.1%	47.9%	49.0%	51.2%	61.8%
Working hours per week^a	39.926	20.209	21.277	20.560	26.905
	(18.040)	(22.937)	(23.503)	(22.791)	(23.994)
The combinations of non-parental childcare provider(s)
The combinations of GP^b and DW^c
None	–	49.6%	57.0%	78.3%	89.4%
GP	–	25.2%	15.1%	7.9%	3.3%
DW	–	21.8%	23.8%	12.4%	7.2%
GP and DW	–	3.4%	4.1%	1.3%	0.1%
The combinations of GP, DW and PSI^d
None	–	47.0%	5.5%	–	–
GP	–	23.5%	1.9%	–	–
DW	–	20.5%	1.1%	–	–
PSI	–	2.6%	51.5%	–	–
GP and DW	–	3.0%	0.0%	–	–
GP and PSI	–	1.7%	13.2%	–	–
DW and PSI	–	1.3%	22.7%	–	–
DW, GP and PSI	–	0.4%	4.1%	–	–
Individual-level controls
Age	35.875	33.701	36.266	41.311	46.178
	(8.539)	(4.560)	(5.051)	(5.126)	(4.492)
Immigrant status (mainland immigrant = 1)	15.7%	41.0%	47.1%	50.7%	48.0%
Educational attainment
Lower secondary	10.8%	22.2%	28.5%	43.8%	50.7%
Upper secondary	45.2%	45.3%	41.1%	38.7%	39.1%
Tertiary (associate/sub-degree)	12.1%	9.4%	9.9%	6.8%	4.4%
Tertiary (degree) or above	31.9%	23.1%	20.5%	10.7%	5.9%
Marital status
Never married	65.4%	0.4%	0.5%	0.2%	0.1%
Cohabitated/married	32.5%	97.4%	97.0%	94.7%	89.1%
Separated/divorced/ widowed	2.0%	2.1%	2.5%	5.1%	10.8%
Family-level controls
Housing type (public housing = 1)	54.1%	50.0%	45.8%	58.5%	61.6%
Home ownership (homeowner = 1)	52.3%	53.4%	53.7%	50.6%	49.2%
Number of rooms	1.991	2.235	2.192	2.169	2.112
	(0.884)	(0.741)	(0.865)	(0.806)	(0.858)
Logged monthly family income (2010 HKD)	3.818	4.913	4.847	4.564	4.308
	(2.174)	(1.282)	(1.294)	(1.562)	(1.696)
Partner’s relative educational attainment (only available for cohabited/married women)
Higher than the respondent	16.3%	17.5%	16.7%	19.0%	16.6%
Same as the respondent	47.7%	53.9%	57.9%	56.4%	60.2%
Lower than the respondent	13.5%	17.9%	16.7%	16.6%	15.3%
Partner’s information is missing	22.5%	10.6%	8.8%	8.0%	8.0%
Number of children	–	1.470	1.608	1.760	1.753
	–	(0.808)	(0.728)	(0.755)	(0.736)
Number of observations	1822	234	365	605	919

Note: Standard deviation in parentheses;

^a Equal to zero if not currently working.

^bRepresents currently living with grandparent(s) who aged 75 or below.

^c Represents currently hiring a foreign domestic worker, and

^d Represents the child is currently enrolled in a preschool institution.

Table 2. Logit/Tobit Models Predicting the Effect of Childrearing on Women’s Labor Supply, HKPSSD 2011–2018.

	DV: Labor force participation^a		DV: Working hours per week^b
	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3	Model 4
The developmental stage of the youngest child (ref. no children)
Infant/Toddler (0–2)	−1.996***	−1.415***	−28.271***	−19.487***
	(0.172)	(0.225)	(2.892)	(3.435)
Pre–schooler (3–6)	−1.948***	−1.262***	−26.746***	−16.344***
	(0.147)	(0.214)	(2.366)	(3.233)
Grade–schooler (7–12)	−1.860***	−0.876***	−27.087***	−13.339***
	(0.130)	(0.212)	(1.886)	(3.140)
Teen (13–18)	−1.429***	−0.148	−17.763***	−1.217
	(0.119)	(0.212)	(1.513)	(3.027)
Individual-level controls
Age		0.105		1.265^+
		(0.069)		(0.725)
Age squared		−0.002*		−0.021*
		(0.001)		(0.009)
Immigrant status (mainland immigrant = 1)		−0.338**		−4.193**
		(0.118)		(1.595)
Education attainment (ref. lower secondary)
Upper secondary		0.534***		7.389***
		(0.137)		(2.005)
Tertiary (associate/sub- degree)		1.337***		13.202***
		(0.253)		(2.606)
Tertiary (degree) or above		1.574***		13.612***
		(0.203)		(2.266)
Marital status (ref. never married)
Cohabitated/married		−0.764***		−6.898*
		(0.229)		(2.735)
Separated/divorced/ widowed		−1.173***		−7.139*
		(0.284)		(3.318)
Family-level controls
Housing type (public housing = 1)		0.119		1.198
		(0.114)		(1.300)
Home ownership (homeowner = 1)		0.297**		3.399**
		(0.113)		(1.306)
Logged monthly family income (2010 HKD)		−0.391***		−3.010***
		(0.043)		(0.256)
Number of rooms		0.147*		1.161
		(0.065)		(0.731)
Partner’s relative educational attainment (ref. higher than the respondent)
Same as the respondent		0.156		4.295^+
		(0.160)		(2.526)
Lower than the respondent		−0.065		3.176
		(0.220)		(3.224)
Missing		−0.225		0.600
		(0.208)		(3.163)
Number of children		−0.048		−1.435
		(0.082)		(1.396)
Survey year dummies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	1.910***	1.369	38.195***	20.729
	(0.088)	(1.344)	(0.683)	(13.885)
Pseudo R-squared	0.11	0.21	0.02	0.03
Number of observations	3945	3945	3945	3945

Note: Standard errors in parentheses; ⁺p < 0.1, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; adjusted for individual clustering effect; ^alogit models are used here to estimate working status; ^bTobit models are used here to estimate Working hours.

Table 3. Logit/Tobit Models Predicting the Buffering Effect of Childcare Providers on Improving Mothers’ Labor Supply, HKPSSD 2011–2018.

	DV: Labor force participation^a			DV: Working hours per week^b
	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3	Model 4	Model 5	Model 6
The developmental stage of the youngest child (ref. teen (13–18))
Infant/Toddler (0–2)	−0.798**	−1.080***	−1.204***	−14.960**	−20.198***	−24.594***
	(0.247)	(0.249)	(0.296)	(4.829)	(4.719)	(6.039)
Pre–schooler (3–6)	−0.755***	−1.037***	−1.259***	−12.974***	−18.228***	−24.840***
	(0.202)	(0.207)	(0.231)	(3.797)	(3.751)	(4.520)
Grade–schooler (7–12)	−0.575***	−0.655***	−0.693***	−12.056***	−13.577***	−14.974***
	(0.141)	(0.144)	(0.149)	(2.579)	(2.582)	(2.801)
The dombinations of non-parental childcare provider(s) (ref. none)
GP		0.567**	1.114*		12.219**	13.788*
		(0.206)	(0.473)		(3.826)	(5.598)
DW		1.315***	0.097		22.016***	1.839
		(0.202)	(0.325)		(2.884)	(4.797)
GP and DW		1.851***	1.513		27.530***	20.803***
		(0.550)	(0.967)		(5.567)	(4.766)
Interaction terms
GP*Infant/Toddler (0–2)			−0.697			−2.722
			(0.600)			(9.615)
GP*Pre–schooler (3–6)			−0.497			1.216
			(0.586)			(9.005)
GP*Grade–schooler (7–12)			−0.503			1.582
			(0.632)			(8.436)
DW*Infant/Toddler (0–2)			1.803***			31.186***
			(0.527)			(7.782)
DW*Pre–schooler (3–6)			1.925***			33.650***
			(0.473)			(6.638)
DW*Grade–schooler (7–12)			1.122**			19.712***
			(0.420)			(5.830)
GP and DW*Infant/Toddler (0–2)			−0.113			5.353
			(1.199)			(11.426)
GP and DW*Pre-schooler (3–6)			0.844			20.690*
			(0.813)			(8.375)
GP and DW*Grade-schooler (7–12)			–			−7.816
			–			(8.972)
Individual-level controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Family-level controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Survey year dummies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	−1.205	−0.917	−0.218	−25.859	−18.584	−3.579
	(2.368)	(2.438)	(2.512)	(43.175)	(42.909)	(43.295)
Pseudo R-squared	0.10	0.12	0.13	0.02	0.03	0.03
Number of observations	2123	2123	2122^c	2123	2123	2123

Note: Standard errors in parentheses; ⁺p < 0.1, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; Adjusted for individual clustering effect; ^a logit models are used here to estimate current working status; ^b Tobit models are used here to estimate Working hours. ^cGP and DW * teen (13–18) in Model 3 predicts the outcome variables perfectly, and thus one observation is not used.

Figure 2. The Buffering Effect of Various Combinations of Childcare Provider(s) on Improving Mothers’ Labor Supply, HKPSSD 2011–2018.

Panel A. DV: Labor force participation.

Notes: Results are predicted from Model 3, Table 3.

Panel B. DV: Working hours.

Notes: Results are predicted from Model 6, Table 3.

Table 4. Models Predicting the Buffering Effect of Complementary Childcare Providers to Improve Mothers’ Labor Supply, Mothers with Children Aged 0–6, HKPSSD 2011–2018.

	DV: Labor force participation^a	DV: Working hours per week^b
	Model 1	Model 2
The combinations of non-parental childcare provider(s) (ref. none)
GP	0.465	5.367
	(0.392)	(3.609)
DW	2.032***	18.406***
	(0.439)	(3.261)
PSI	0.186	1.360
	(0.279)	(2.381)
GP and DW	1.276	13.002^+
	(1.129)	(7.673)
GP and PSI	0.989*	11.391**
	(0.421)	(4.185)
DW and PSI	2.090***	19.000***
	(0.401)	(3.257)
DW, GP and PSI	2.476**	24.824***
	(0.788)	(4.687)
Individual-level controls	Yes	Yes
Family-level controls	Yes	Yes
Survey year dummies	Yes	Yes
Constant	14.650***	43.376
	(4.394)	(39.722)
Pseudo R-squared	0.25	0.04
Number of observations	599	599

Note: Standard errors in parentheses; ⁺p < 0.1, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; adjusted for individual clustering effect; ^alogit models are used here to estimate current working status; ^bTobit models are used here to estimate Working hours.

Figure 3. The Buffering Effect of Complementary Childcare Provider(s) on Improving Mothers’ Labor Supply.

Panel A. DV: Labor force participation.

Notes: Results are predicted from Model 1, Table 4.

Panel B. DV: Working hours'

Notes: Results are predicted from Model 2, Table 4.