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Fertility postponement and labor market outcomes

Author

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  • Massimiliano Bratti

    (University of Milan, Italy, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

The rise in the average age of women bearing their first child is a well-established demographic trend in recent decades. Postponed childbearing can have important consequences for the mother and, at a macro level, for the country as a whole. Research has focused on the effect postponing fertility has on the labor market outcomes for mothers and on the total number of children a woman has in her lifetime. Most research finds that postponing the first birth raises a mother’s labor force participation and wages but may have negative effects on overall fertility, especially in the absence of supportive family-friendly policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimiliano Bratti, 2015. "Fertility postponement and labor market outcomes," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 117-117, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2015:n:117
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cigno, Alessandro & Ermisch, John, 1989. "A microeconomic analysis of the timing of births," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 737-760, April.
    2. Elizabeth Ty Wilde & Lily Batchelder & David T. Ellwood, 2010. "The Mommy Track Divides: The Impact of Childbearing on Wages of Women of Differing Skill Levels," NBER Working Papers 16582, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Heckman, James J & Walker, James R, 1990. "The Third Birth in Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 3(4), pages 235-275, December.
    4. Massimiliano Bratti & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2012. "The effect of delaying motherhood on the second childbirth in Europe," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 291-321, January.
    5. Massimiliano Bratti & Laura Cavalli, 2014. "Delayed First Birth and New Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Biological Fertility Shocks," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 35-63, February.
    6. Kenneth Troske & Alexandru Voicu, 2013. "The effect of the timing and spacing of births on the level of labor market involvement of married women," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 483-521, August.
    7. V. Joseph Hotz & Susan Williams McElroy & Seth G. Sanders, 2005. "Teenage Childbearing and Its Life Cycle Consequences: Exploiting a Natural Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
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    9. Heckman, James J & Hotz, V Joseph & Walker, James R, 1985. "New Evidence on the Timing and Spacing of Births," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 179-184, May.
    10. Karimi, Arizo, 2014. "Effects of the timing of births on women's earnings - evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 2014:17, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    11. Amalia Miller, 2011. "The effects of motherhood timing on career path," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(3), pages 1071-1100, July.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Massimiliano Bratti & Elena Claudia Meroni & Chiara Pronzato, 2017. "Motherhood Postponement and Wages in Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(02), pages 31-37, August.
    4. Semih Tumen & Belgi Turan, 2023. "The effect of fertility on female labor supply in a labor market with extensive informality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(4), pages 1855-1894, October.
    5. repec:ces:ifodic:v:15:y:2017:i:2:p:19337561 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Hofmann, Barbara & Hohmeyer, Katrin, 2016. "The effect of the business cycle at college graduation on fertility," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 88-102.
    7. Pan, Zheng & Jiang, Xiandeng & Zhao, Ningru, 2021. "Does birth spacing affect female labor market participation? Evidence from urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility postponement; labor market outcomes; completed fertility; family-friendly policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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