Mothers nonstandard work hours

and investment in children in Japan

International Workshop
Gender, Care and State in East Asia
at National Taiwan University
December 26, 2014
Akiko Sato Oishi
Chiba University
oishi@le.chiba-u.ac.jp
1

What do nonstandard work hour

s mean?
An antonym of standard work hours
9AM to 5PM, Monday to Friday

In general, NS schedules include evenings, nig

hts, rotating shifts, split shifts, irregular hours, a
nd regular weekend work.
Li, et al. (2014)
In this paper, we define NS work hours as nondaytime work hours (i.e. early mornings, evenin
gs, and nights)
2

Why do parents nonstandard work

hours matter?
May lead to poor mental health and increased
risk-taking behavior of children
(Joshi and Bogen 2007; Strazdins et al. 2004, 2006; Li et al. 2014)

May lead to poor educational achievement

(Han 2005; Han and Fox 2011)

May lead to higher BMI and obesity of childre

n
(Miller and Han 2008; Champion et al. 2012)

These negative effects are profoundly observe

d for children in sole parent families
(Dockery et al. 2009; Han 2008)
3

Past studies on time use of

single mothers in Japan
Single mothers spend longer hours at work and sh
orter hours with children as compared to those mo
thers in EU countries and the US.
(Tamiya and Shikata, 2007)

Single mothers spend less time with children and e

at dinner together less frequently than their marrie
d counterparts. (Raymo et al. 2014)
No study has focused on the mothers work sc
hedules and the trade-off between time and m
oney.
4

This study
1. Provides key features of nonstandard w
ork hours of mothers in Japan
2. Investigates factors influencing the deci
sion to work nonstandard hours by payi
ng attention to the difference between s
ingle and married mothers
3. Examines how mothers nonstandard w
ork hours affect the time and money spe
nt on children
5

Data
2 nd Wave of National Survey of Households with
Children (NSHC) conducted in November 2012 by J
apan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT)
Randomly selected sample of 4,000 households (2,0
00 two-parent households and 2,000 lone-parent ho
useholds) with children below the age of 18 chosen fr
om the Residential Registry throughout Japan
1219 two-parent households (response rate = 61.0%)
and 982 lone-parent households (response rate = 49.
1%)
Sample for analysis: 527 single-mothers and 968 ma
rried mothers with jobs
6

Definition
A single mother refers to a woman who is raising
her children without a father.
Note that 30% of single mothers live with their relatives (typical
ly her parent(s)).

Children refer to persons who are unmarried and

below the age 18.

Nonstandard work hours refer to

early mornings (5 a.m. to 8 a.m.),
evenings (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.),
and nights (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.).
7

What time of the day do mothers wo

rk?

Source: Authors calculation using NSHC.

What time of the day do mothers wo

rk?

Source: Authors calculation using NSHC.

Why do mothers work

nonstandard hours?
Hypotheses
1. To earn wage premiums associated with
nonstandard work hours
2. Hours constraint multiple job holdin
gs?
3. Liquidity constraint deprivation/dissa
ving
4. Educational purpose educational tar
get
5. Grandmoms support living arrangem

10

Results
H1 (Wage premiums)
Single mothers: hourly wage 23% (p<0.05) h
igher if work at night
Married mothers: Not significant

H2 (Hours constraint)
Single mothers with multiple jobs are 3.9 tim
es (p<0.01) more likely to work NS hours
Married mothers: Not significant

11

Results (cont.)
H3 (Liquidity constraint)
Single mothers: Not significant
Married mothers: 2 times (p<0.01) more likely to work NS hour
s if they have no savings. 3.19 (p<0.05) times more likely to
work at night if they are unable to buy necessary clothes.

H4 (Educational purpose)
Single mothers: 1.84 (p<0.05) times more likely to work in the
evenings if they wish to send their children higher education
Married mothers: Not significant

H5 (Grandmoms support)
Single mothers: 2.19 (p<0.01) times more likely to work in the
evenings if grandmom lives together or nearby.
Married mothers: Not significant
12

NS work hours and time with children

Note: Marginal effects from ordered probit estimation.

Source: Authors estimation results using NSHC.

13

NS work hours and the frequency of fa

mily dinner

Note: Marginal effects from ordered probit estimation.

Source: Authors estimation results using NSHC.

14

NS work and money spent on children

Notes: Figures in parentheses indicate standard deviations. Educational expenses refer to money spent
on cram schools and private enrichment lessons.
Source: Authors calculation using NSHC.

15

NS work and money spent on children

(Counterfactual based on DFL decomposition)
Childrearing
expenses
Single mothers

Married
mothers

Educational
expenses
Single mothers

Married
mothers

Note: Solid lines indicate counterfactual (estimated distribution of money

spent on children of households where mothers work daytime only). Dashed
lines indicate actual distribution of money spent on children where mothers

16

Summary
Prevalence of NS work hours
20.6% of single mothers and 14.1% of married mothers work in t
he evenings.
8.6% of single mothers and 6.7% of married mothers work at mi
dnight.

Determinants of mothers NS hours work

Single mothers: wage premiums, educational target, grandmom
s support
Married mothers: Liquidity constraint, age of the youngest child

NS work hours and investment in children

Mothers NS hours work significantly reduces time with children
No significant difference was found for money spent on children

Mothers trade-off income and time with children

17

References
Champion, S. L., Rumbold, A. R., Steele, E. J., Giles, L. C., Davies, M. J., &
Moore, V. M. (2012). Parental work schedules and child overweight and
obesity.International Journal of Obesity, 36(4), 573-580.
DiNardo, J., Fortin, N. M., & Lemieux, T. (1996). Labor Market Institution
s and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approa
ch. Econometrica, 64(5), 1001-1044.
Dockery, A., Li, J., & Kendall, G. (2009). Parents' work patterns and adol
escent mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 68(4), 689-698.
Han, W. J. (2005). Maternal nonstandard work schedules and child cog
nitive outcomes. Child Development, 76(1), 137-154.
Han, W. J. (2008). Shift work and child behavioral outcomes. Work, Emp
loyment & Society, 22(1), 67-87.
Han, W. J., & Miller, D. P. (2009). Parental work schedules and adolesce
nt depression. Health Sociology Review, 18(1), 36-49.
Han, W. J., & Fox, L. E. (2011). Parental work schedules and children's c
ognitive trajectories. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73(5), 962-980.
18

References (cont.)
Joshi, P., & Bogen, K. (2007). Nonstandard Schedules and Young Childrens Behavior
al Outcomes Among Working LowIncome Families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 6
9(1), 139-156.
Li, J., Johnson, S. E., Han, W. J., Andrews, S., Kendall, G., Strazdins, L., & Dockery, A. (2
014). Parents Nonstandard Work Schedules and Child Well-Being: A Critical Review
of the Literature. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 35(1), 53-73.
Miller, D. P., & Han, W. J. (2008). Maternal nonstandard work schedules and adolesce
nt overweight. American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1495.
Raymo, J. M., Park, H., Iwasawa, M., & Zhou, Y. (2014). Single Motherhood, Living Arra
ngements, and Time With Children in Japan. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(4), 84
3-861.
Strazdins, L., Korda, R. J., Lim, L. L., Broom, D. H., & DSouza, R. M. (2004). Around-the
-clock: parent work schedules and children's well-being in a 24-h economy. Social Sci
ence & Medicine, 59(7), 1517-1527.
Strazdins, L., Clements, M. S., Korda, R. J., Broom, D. H., & DSouza, R. M. (2006). Uns
ociable Work? Nonstandard Work Schedules, Family Relationships, and Childrens W
ellBeing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(2), 394-410.
Tamiya, Y. Shikata, M. (2007) Work and Childrearing of Single Mother Households: A
n International Comparison (Boshi setai no shigoto to ikuji: Seikatsu jikan no kokusai
hikaku kara) Quarterly of Social Security (Kikan Shakai Hosho Kenkyu) 43(3), 219-23
1.
19

Variables
Nonstandard work hours
Early mornings
Evenings
Nights
Work status
Part-time/Contingent worker
Fulltime regular employee
Dispatched/Contract worker
Self-employed
Occupation
Professional/technical
Service-related
Education
Junior-high school
High school
Junior-college/Tech. college
University
Multiple job holder
Large frm employee
Metropolitan area
Kids
Two kids
Three or more
Age of the youngest child
Grandmom lives nearby
Rented house
No savings/Dissaving
Educational target =higher education
N

2
3

Descriptive statistics

20

0.073
0.139
0.067
0.472
0.330
0.067
0.126
0.243
0.199
0.034
0.369
0.403
0.174
0.031
0.120
0.239
0.484
0.277
8.755
( 5.145)
0.481
0.208
0.179
0.739
915

0.400
0.369
0.153
0.071
0.182
0.239
0.096
0.437
0.349
0.073
0.078
0.124
0.306
0.412
0.139
10.518
( 4.673)
0.508
0.433
0.357
0.529
490

Married

0.080
0.206
0.086

Single