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A Comprehensive Employment Model for Low-Income Mothers

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Abstract

Recognizing that mothers continue to bear the primary responsibility for household production, comprehensive logit models are developed to predict employment for low-income mothers. The models include a wide array of possible employment impediments, including individual, family environment, and community variables. Lack of family resource management, a variable not previously investigated in employment prediction, is found to be a significant impediment to employment. Under welfare reform, low-income mothers must balance family and work demands under severe resource constraints. Family resource management appears to play a crucial role in this balancing process. In addition, the local unemployment rate is found to be a significant predictor of employment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin-Marinette, 750 West Bay Shore Drive, Marinette, WI, 54143, USA

    Julie A. Urban

  2. University of New Mexico, Simpson Hall, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Pamela N. Olson

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  1. Julie A. Urban
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  2. Pamela N. Olson
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Correspondence to Julie A. Urban.

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Urban, J.A., Olson, P.N. A Comprehensive Employment Model for Low-Income Mothers. J Fam Econ Iss 26, 101–122 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-004-1414-2

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