Economic issues are an important part of the debate over child care policy. This volume presents findings from economic analyses of research on child care issues surrounding recent policy decisions and scholarly debates. The book's introduction discusses four main issues; government involvement in child care policies, its effect on quality of child care, behavior of consumers in the child care market, and the supply of child care. The introduction concludes with a summary of each of the chapters and ensuing comments written by seven economists. The chapters are: (1) "Child Care Policy and Research: An Economist's Perspective" (Philip K. Robins, comments by William Prosser); (2) "Public Policy and the Supply of Child Care Services" (James R. Walker, comments from a developmental psychologist's perspective by Deborah A. Phillips); (3) "The Importance of Child Care Costs to Women's Decision Making" (Rachel Connelly, comments by Sandra L. Hofferth); (4) "Quality, Cost, and Parental Choice of Child Care" (Ellen Kisker and Rebecca Maynard; and (5) "The Quality of Child Care: An Economic Perspective" by David M. Blau. All but one of the chapters contain references. (AMC)