1-161 - Public policy as macro-level context: The effects of local labor policies on family and child well-being

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Ecological theories of child development underscore the importance of contexts at multiple levels including the macro system, the most distal level of influence on child development. One component of the macro system is public policies. This symposium will explore a particular set of public policies – local policies that alter labor regulations – and their effects on families and children. Paper 1 sets the context for the symposium by providing descriptive information about low-wage working parents’ work schedules and associations with child behavior problems. The following papers investigate the effects of particular local labor policy changes: The Fair Workweek Ordinance (FWO) in Emeryville, CA; a minimum wage increase in Seattle; and Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. Together, these papers show that changing local labor policies can alter parents’ work experiences, family dynamics, and child behavior, although not always in anticipated ways. Implications for both policy and understanding macro-level influences on child development will be discussed

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Chair

• Anna Gassman-Pines, Duke University

Discussant

• Cynthia Osborne, University of Texas at Austin

Individual Presentations

• Parental Exposure to Routine Work Schedule Uncertainty and Child Behavior - Presenting Author: Daniel Schneider, University of California, Berkeley; Non-Presenting Author: Kristen Harknett, University of California, San Francisco

• The effects of the Emeryville, CA Fair Workweek Ordinance on the daily lives of low-wage workers and their families - Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth O Ananat, Duke University; Presenting Author: Anna Gassman-Pines, Duke University

• Low-Income Parents’ Perspectives on a Local Minimum Wage Law - Presenting Author: Heather Hill, University of Washington

• The Effects of Seattle's Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance on Workers' Earnings Dynamics - Presenting Author: Hilary Wething, University of Washington