Outsourcing Household Production: Foreign Domestic Workers and Native Labor Supply in Hong Kong

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cortes, Patricia; Pan, Jessica
• 署名单位: Boston University; National University of Singapore
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/668675
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 327-371
• 关键词: empirical-model; Child-care; immigration; COSTS

摘要

We explore how the availability of affordable live-in help provided by foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong affected native women's labor supply and welfare. First, we exploit differences in the FDW program between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Second, we use cross-sectional variation in the cost of a FDW to estimate a model of labor force participation and FDW hire. FDWs increased the participation of mothers with a young child (relative to older children) by 10-14 percentage points and have generated a monthly consumer surplus of US$130-US$200. By reducing child care costs through immigration, this is a market-based alternative to child care subsidies.