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Measuring the effect of the timing of first birth on wages

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  • Jane Leber Herr

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

I study the effect of first-birth timing on women’s wages, defining timing in terms of labor force entry, rather than age. Considering the mechanisms by which timing may affect wages, each is a function of experience rather than age. This transformation also highlights the distinction between a first birth after labor market entry versus before. I show that estimates based on age understate the return to delay for women who remain childless at labor market entry and have obscured the negative return to delay—to a first birth after labor market entry rather than before—for all but college graduates. My results suggest, however, that these returns to first-birth timing may hold only for non-Hispanic white women.

Suggested Citation

  • Jane Leber Herr, 2016. "Measuring the effect of the timing of first birth on wages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 39-72, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:29:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-015-0554-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-015-0554-z
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    First-birth timing; Women; Wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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