Cole, Paula M., authorBernasek, Alexandra, advisorFan, Chuen-mei, committee memberBraunstein, Elissa, committee memberKneller, Jane, committee member2007-01-032007-01-032011http://hdl.handle.net/10217/50671Children bring great joy and love to families, but for many families childcare entails significant stress, worry, sacrifice, and financial hardship. Social and cultures norms in the United States place these care difficulties in the private sphere to be handled by individuals, primarily women. The challenges families face in choosing between quality, affordability, and availability demonstrate that our childcare system is not the best that it could be and that all of us need to become stakeholders in the care of children. This research examines the childcare decisions of families using the ideas of neoclassical, feminist, and institutionalist economists. The childcare choice is explored with quantitative and qualitative methodology enabling critique of both the outcome and the process. Research findings demonstrate the importance of gender in the care of children, the need for more complete data on childcare, and that a solution to the childcare problem requires an ethic of care.born digitaldoctoral dissertationsengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.childcaregenderText