IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dem/wpaper/wp-2019-017.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The gendered impacts of delayed parenthood on educational and labor market outcomes: a dynamic analysis of population-level effects over young adulthood

Author

Listed:
  • Jessica Nisén

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Maarten J. Bijlsma

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Pekka Martikainen

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Ben Wilson
  • Mikko Myrskylä

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

Later parenthood is often beneficial for women, but less is known about its impact on men. As first births continue to occur later in life, it is important to understand whether this delay influences the educational and labor market outcomes of women and men differently, and how it changes the socioeconomic characteristics of children’s parents at birth. However, education, employment, and fertility are linked, implying that complex models are required in order to analyze the time-varying impacts of delayed parenthood. We use dynamic longitudinal models and Finnish data to analyze how, and through which socioeconomic mechanisms, a material delay in parenthood is likely to influence educational and labor market outcomes over young adulthood. A three-year delay in young-adult parenthood for all women increases educational enrollment in their early 20s, employment in their late 20s, and partly due to higher education income in their 30s. The impact of the same delay for men is more modest, and almost negligible for their employment, suggesting that later parenthood exacerbates the educational advantage of women and attenuates the income advantage of men. However, it strengthens the socioeconomic standing of both men and women when they become parents, essentially due to the accumulation of effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica Nisén & Maarten J. Bijlsma & Pekka Martikainen & Ben Wilson & Mikko Myrskylä, 2019. "The gendered impacts of delayed parenthood on educational and labor market outcomes: a dynamic analysis of population-level effects over young adulthood," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2019-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2019-017
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2019-017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2019-017.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2019-017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra Hofferth, 1984. "Long-term economic consequences for women of delayed childbearing and reduced family size," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 21(2), pages 141-155, May.
    2. Mikko Myrskylä & Rachel Margolis, 2014. "Happiness: Before and After the Kids," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(5), pages 1843-1866, October.
    3. Kravdal, Øystein & Rindfuss, Ronald R., 2007. "Changing relationships between education and fertility – a study of women and men born 1940-64," Memorandum 11/2007, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    4. Thomas Lorentzen & Olof Bäckman & Ilari Ilmakunnas & Timo Kauppinen, 2019. "Pathways to Adulthood: Sequences in the School-to-Work Transition in Finland, Norway and Sweden," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 1285-1305, February.
    5. Goldin, Claudia, 2006. "The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women’s Employment, Education, and Family," Scholarly Articles 2943933, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    6. Martin Dribe & Maria Stanfors, 2009. "Education, Work and Parenthood: Comparing the Experience of Young Men and Women in Sweden," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 32-42, March.
    7. 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.
    8. Jan Van Bavel, 2012. "The reversal of gender inequality in education, union formation and fertility in Europe," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 10(1), pages 127-154.
    9. Marika Jalovaara & Anneli Miettinen, 2013. "Does his paycheck also matter?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(31), pages 881-916.
    10. Blackburn, McKinley L & Bloom, David E & Neumark, David, 1993. "Fertility Timing, Wages, and Human Capital," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-30.
    11. Tyler J. VanderWeele & Eric J. Tchetgen Tchetgen, 2017. "Mediation analysis with time varying exposures and mediators," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 79(3), pages 917-938, June.
    12. Petter Lundborg & Erik Plug & Astrid Würtz Rasmussen, 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1611-1637, June.
    13. Johannes Huinink & Martin Kohli, 2014. "A life-course approach to fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(45), pages 1293-1326.
    14. Sara Cools & Marte Strøm, 2016. "Parenthood wage penalties in a double income society," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 391-416, June.
    15. Mikko Myrskylä & Rachel Margolis, 2012. "Happiness: before and after the kids," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2012-013, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    16. Jacinda Dariotis & Joseph Pleck & Nan Astone & Freya Sonenstein, 2011. "Pathways of Early Fatherhood, Marriage, and Employment: A Latent Class Growth Analysis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 593-623, May.
    17. David S. Loughran & Julie M. Zissimopoulos, 2009. "Why Wait?: The Effect of Marriage and Childbearing on the Wages of Men and Women," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    18. Claudia Goldin, 2006. "The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women's Employment, Education, and Family," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 1-21, May.
    19. Kieron Barclay & Mikko Myrskylä, 2016. "Advanced Maternal Age and Offspring Outcomes: Reproductive Aging and Counterbalancing Period Trends," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 42(1), pages 69-94, March.
    20. Tyler J. Vanderweele, 2011. "Controlled Direct and Mediated Effects: Definition, Identification and Bounds," Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, Danish Society for Theoretical Statistics;Finnish Statistical Society;Norwegian Statistical Association;Swedish Statistical Association, vol. 38(3), pages 551-563, September.
    21. Jessica Nisén & Pekka Martikainen & Karri Silventoinen & Mikko Myrskylä, 2014. "Age-specific fertility by educational level in the Finnish male cohort born 1940‒1950," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(5), pages 119-136.
    22. Wendy Sigle-Rushton & Jane Waldfogel, 2007. "Motherhood and women's earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 55-91.
    23. Government of India, 2017. "National Health Policy 2017," Working Papers id:11664, eSocialSciences.
    24. Maarten J. Bijlsma & Ben Wilson, 2017. "Modelling the socio-economic determinants of fertility: a mediation analysis using the parametric g-formula," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-013, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    25. Øystein Kravdal, 2007. "Effects of current education on second- and third-birth rates among Norwegian women and men born in 1964: Substantive interpretations and methodological issues," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(9), pages 211-246.
    26. Millimet, Daniel L, 2000. "The Impact of Children on Wages, Job Tenure, and the Division of Household Labour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 139-157, March.
    27. 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.
    28. Marit Rønsen & Marianne Sundström, 2002. "Family Policy and After-Birth Employment Among New Mothers – A Comparison of Finland, Norway and Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 121-152, June.
    29. Sheree Gibb & David Fergusson & L. Horwood & Joseph Boden, 2014. "The Effects of Parenthood on Workforce Participation and Income for Men and Women," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 14-26, March.
    30. Mikko Myrskylä & Rachel Margolis, 2014. "Happiness - before and after the Kids," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 642, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    31. Máire Ní Bhrolcháin & Éva Beaujouan, 2012. "Fertility postponement is largely due to rising educational enrolment," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(3), pages 311-327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jessica Nisén & Johanna Tassot & Francesco Iacoella & Peter Eibich, 2022. "The effect of fertility timing on women’s earnings at midlife in the UK," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-021, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin & Steffes, Susanne, 2013. "Causal effects on employment after first birth — A dynamic treatment approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 49-62.
    2. Julia Hellstrand & Jessica Nisén & Mikko Myrskylä, 2022. "Less Partnering, Less Children, or Both? Analysis of the Drivers of First Birth Decline in Finland Since 2010," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(2), pages 191-221, May.
    3. Julia Hellstrand & Jessica Nisén & Mikko Myrskylä, 2021. "Less partnering, less children, or both? Analysis of the drivers of first-birth decline in Finland since 2010?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2021-008, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Nizalova, Olena Y. & Sliusarenko, Tamara & Shpak, Solomiya, 2016. "The motherhood wage penalty in times of transition," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 56-75.
    5. Jessica Nisén & Pekka Martikainen & Mikko Myrskylä & Karri Silventoinen, 2018. "Education, Other Socioeconomic Characteristics Across the Life Course, and Fertility Among Finnish Men," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 337-366, August.
    6. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Van Bavel, 2018. "Gender differences and similarities in the educational gradient in fertility: The role of earnings potential and gender composition in study disciplines," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(13), pages 381-414.
    7. Emilia Del Bono & Andrea Weber & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2012. "Clash Of Career And Family: Fertility Decisions After Job Displacement," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 659-683, August.
    8. Joanne S. Muller & Nicole Hiekel & Aart C. Liefbroer, 2020. "The Long-Term Costs of Family Trajectories: Women’s Later-Life Employment and Earnings Across Europe," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 1007-1034, June.
    9. Kunze, Astrid, 2014. "Are All of the Good Men Fathers? The Effect of Having Children on Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 8113, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Luci Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "Avoir un enfant plus tard: Enjeux sociodémographiques du report des naissances," Post-Print halshs-01245523, HAL.
    11. Nieto, Adrián, 2021. "Native-immigrant differences in the effect of children on the gender pay gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 654-680.
    12. Hippolyte D'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "AVOIR UN ENFANT PLUS TARD Enjeux sociodémographiques du report des naissances," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01298929, HAL.
    13. Javier García-Manglano, 2015. "Opting Out and Leaning In: The Life Course Employment Profiles of Early Baby Boom Women in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(6), pages 1961-1993, December.
    14. Gershoni, Naomi & Low, Corinne, 2021. "The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women’s human capital investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Bavel, 2020. "Partners’ Educational Characteristics and Fertility: Disentangling the Effects of Earning Potential and Unemployment Risk on Second Births," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(3), pages 439-464, July.
    16. Astrid Kunze, 2020. "The effect of children on male earnings and inequality," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 683-710, September.
    17. Lucifora, Claudio & Meurs, Dominique & Villar, Elena, 2021. "The “mommy track” in the workplace. Evidence from a large French firm," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    18. Margaret Gough, 2017. "Birth spacing, human capital, and the motherhood penalty at midlife in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(13), pages 363-416.
    19. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Education and the Transition to Fatherhood: The Role of Selection Into Union," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 119-144, February.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Finland; education; gender; labor market; longitudinal analysis; parenthood;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2019-017. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Wilhelm (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.