CHILDREN AND THE TIMING OF WOMENS PAID WORK AFTER CHILDBIRTH - A FURTHER SPECIFICATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP

The concept of opportunity cost of time, Cox hazards models, and data on 597 women from the 1983-1987 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dyn amics are used to analyze when women start paid work following a birth . By the beginning of month 5 after delivery, half of the women had st arted paid work. Work status during pregnancy has the largest effect o n the timing, but family income, the federal income tax rate, and home ownership also matter. Of several measures for children, having a sec ond or fourth child are the only, ones related to the timing of paid w ork, if work status during pregnancy is not controlled for.