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The dilemmas of lone motherhood: key issues for feminist economics
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2004
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Lone mothers face acute dilemmas balancing caregiving and income, often earning less than men, and rely on limited support, making economic independence rare. Most lone mothers devise varied creative strategies to manage. Keywords: lone mothers, care work, labor markets, family policy, welfare state, work–life balance; JEL Codes: I31, J12, J20.
Abstract The acute dilemmas facing lone mothers in raising their children and earning a living form a common theme across the articles in this special issue of Feminist Economics on Lone Mothers. Like other parents, lone mothers face difficult decisions in allocating their time to caregiving and income generation, but in their families there is only one adult to do both. Further, that one adult is a woman, who will generally earn less than a man, compounding the difficulties. Lone mothers must rely on a range of support mechanisms (fathers, other family members, employers, and government policy) to manage; they can therefore rarely be economically independent. Policies that are ideologically reluctant to support unmarried mothers in their caregiving may divide unmarried mothers from other lone mothers, and lone mothers from other poor parents. Nevertheless, most lone mothers find creative strategies to manage that are as varied as lone mothers themselves. Keywords: Lone motherscare worklabor marketsfamily policywelfare statework – life balance Notes JEL Codes: I31, J12, J20 Additional informationNotes on contributorsRandy Albelda JEL Codes: I31, J12, J20