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Fertility Intentions, Career Considerations and Subsequent Births: The Moderating Effects of Women’s Work Hours

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  • Karina Shreffler
  • David Johnson

Abstract

Prior research indicates a negative relationship between women’s labor force participation and fertility at the individual level in the United States, but little is known about the reasons for this relationship beyond work hours. We employed discrete event history models using panel data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 2,411) and found that the importance of career considerations mediates the work hours/fertility relationship. Further, fertility intentions and the importance of career considerations were more predictive of birth outcomes as women’s work hours increase. Ultimately, our findings challenge the assumption that working more hours is the direct cause for employed women having fewer children and highlight the importance of career and fertility preferences in fertility outcomes. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Karina Shreffler & David Johnson, 2013. "Fertility Intentions, Career Considerations and Subsequent Births: The Moderating Effects of Women’s Work Hours," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 285-295, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:34:y:2013:i:3:p:285-295
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-012-9331-2
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    Cited by:

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    3. María Davia & Nuria Legazpe, 2014. "Determinants of Employment Decisions After the First Child Birth in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 214-227, June.
    4. Anna Kurowska & Anna Matysiak & Beata Osiewalska, 2023. "Working from Home During Covid-19 Pandemic and Changes to Fertility Intentions Among Parents," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-31, December.
    5. Somayeh Parvazian & Judith Gill & Belinda Chiera, 2017. "Higher Education, Women, and Sociocultural Change: A Closer Look at the Statistics," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, May.
    6. Joelle Abramowitz, 2017. "Assisted Reproductive Technology and Women’s Timing of Marriage and Childbearing," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 100-117, March.
    7. Tsung Huang & Tsun-Feng Chiang & Jiun-Nan Pan, 2015. "Fertility and Crime: Evidence from Spatial Analysis of Taiwan," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 319-327, September.
    8. Sarah R. Brauner-Otto & Claudia Geist, 2018. "Uncertainty, Doubts, and Delays: Economic Circumstances and Childbearing Expectations Among Emerging Adults," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 88-102, March.
    9. Silvia Mendolia, 2016. "Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children: Evidence from British Data," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 566-580, December.
    10. Maryam Moeeni & Arash Rashidian & Akbar Aghajanian, 2018. "Women’s relative status and childbearing intentions: Empirical evidence from Iran," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(4), pages 1-10, April.
    11. Limor Gadot & Yifat Faran & Orly Sarid, 2022. "Education Makes the Difference: Work Preferences of Young Adults with Physical Disability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.

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