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Outsourcing of Housework and the Transition to a Second Birth in Germany

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  • Liat Raz-Yurovich

    (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Abstract

The struggle that women face in reconciling their work and family roles is one of the main explanations proposed for the rapid decline in fertility rates in some developed countries. This study examines the role of the outsourcing of housework in reducing such role incompatibility and in increasing fertility among women in Germany—a country with below-replacement fertility rates, which enacted a series of large-scale schemes from the beginning of the 1990s that give incentives to households to outsource housework. Based on Goode’s role strain theory and by using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study analyzed whether women who outsourced housework after the birth of their first child had a higher probability of having a second child. A survival analysis of 3990 person years demonstrates that, controlling for observables, the outsourcing of domestic labor is positively associated with a higher probability of a subsequent second birth in German women.

Suggested Citation

  • Liat Raz-Yurovich, 2016. "Outsourcing of Housework and the Transition to a Second Birth in Germany," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(3), pages 401-417, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:35:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11113-016-9384-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-016-9384-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Adam Ka-Lok Cheung & Erin Hye-Won Kim, 2022. "Domestic Outsourcing in an Ultra-Low Fertility Context: Employing Live-in Domestic Help and Fertility in Hong Kong," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1597-1618, August.
    3. Laurie F. DeRose & Frances Goldscheider & Javiera Reyes Brito & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Paúl Corcuera & Paúl J. Corcuera & Montserrat Gas-Aixendri, 2019. "Are Children Barriers to the Gender Revolution? International Comparisons," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 987-1021, December.
    4. Liat Raz-Yurovich, 2022. "Leisure: Definitions, Trends, and Policy Implications," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 981-1019, June.
    5. Nakamura, Nobuyuki & Suzuki, Aya, 2023. "Impact of foreign domestic workers on the fertility decision of households: evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(1), pages 105-135, March.

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