This thesis consists of three major essays that respectively investigate three factors that
might influence child well-being: family income, family structure, and time spent in child
care. Using the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY),
the first essay finds that income-based gaps in child health are statistically significant,
quantitatively meaningful, and more pronounced as children age. Contrary to previous U.S.
evidence, the observed income gradient in child health cannot be attributed to the protective
effects of income on the incidence and severity of children’s health problems at birth and
chronic conditions. This contrast may reflect the effects of universal health insurance in
Canada. An instrumental variable estimator predicts a stronger causal effect of income on
child health than does OLS. Also using the NLSCY, the second essay indicates that children
persistently living in single-parent families have poorer health and educational outcomes
compared to children persistently living in intact families. In addition, children whose
parents separate during a given period exhibit worse health and educational outcomes
compared to children whose parents remain together. Using a sibling fixed-effect approach
substantially reduces the associations between children’s outcomes and parental separation
predicted by OLS, but several gaps, especially in mental health, remain statistically
significant and quantitatively meaningful. Using time-use data taken from the General
Social Survey (GSS), the third essay finds that parental time spent in child care
continuously and dramatically increased in Canada between 1986 and 2010. The increase
in average time spent in child care applied to all gender and education groups but was
associated with a growing dispersion in child care time. While more highly educated
parents are more likely to spend time in child care, the education-based gaps in child care
time are found to decline. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/27610 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Wei, Lan |
| Contributors | Veall, Michael, Economics |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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