The effects of children on the major dimensions of home-based employment

Using an ordinary least squares regression procedure and data from the NE-167 sample of home-based employment households, the effects of children on seven major home-based work dimensions, respectively, are estimated along with remaining work dimensions and a series of control variables. The findings show that having a child equal to or under 18 years of age reduces home-based work hours by 407 hours per year, which equates to 1 work day per week. The separate effect of a child under 6 years of age reduces work hours by 296 hours per year or about three-quarters of a work day per week. Being a male home-based worker offsets these children effects considerably compared with being a female home-based worker. Children in general are negatively related to large-scale businesses that hire employees or services. Younger children negatively affect the likelihood of being a home-based business owner and being involved in seasonal home-based employment.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural and Urban Families, partially supported by Cooperative States Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and University of Vermont. Appreciation is expressed to You-Hyun Cho for the computer assistance needed to complete these analyses. Patsy Seilen and Justine Lynge were instrumental in formatting and stylizing this article to required guidelines.Her current research interests include household asset and debt formation, working families, and employers' benefits and home-based employment. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1978.