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The differential effect of childbirth on men's and women's careers

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  • de la Vega, Noa

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of first childbirth on parents’ labour supply and life satisfaction as a function of their pre-birth earnings. My contribution is to examine how childbearing differentially affects men and women according to their relative role within the household before childbirth. Using data from Germany and a quasi-experimental approach based on event studies around first childbirth, I find that the negative impact of children on women's labour-market outcomes is significant and persistent regardless of their relative potential earnings before childbirth. In contrast, men tend to increase their earnings and employment rates after childbirth but only in households where women were primary breadwinners pre-birth. I also find that in these households, after childbirth, men invest more time in childcare and less in leisure activities whereas women invest more time in housework relative to men breadwinners households. Correspondingly, both spouses report a decrease in their housework satisfaction while men become dissatisfied with work and leisure.

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  • de la Vega, Noa, 2022. "The differential effect of childbirth on men's and women's careers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:78:y:2022:i:c:s0927537122001397
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102249
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender roles; Gender gap; Childcare; Childbirth; Job satisfaction; Well-being;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • 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
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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