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Maybe Baby: Comparing Partnered Women's Employment and Child Policies in the EU-15

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  • Jerome De Henau
  • Daniele Meulders
  • Sile O'Dorchai

Abstract

This paper examines how child-related public policies influence women's employment in Europe. The analysis compares the difference in employment status between partnered mothers and nonmothers across the EU-15 using a wide range of self-constructed indicators of child policies such as childcare provision, parental leave, and tax-cash benefits. Using the recycled predictions method, it is possible to isolate the impact of the presence of a child from other characteristics likely to influence women's labor-market outcomes. Country-specific employment gaps among women are computed at different ages for the youngest child, for different outcomes (inactivity and part-time or full-time work), and for different levels of education. The main conclusion is that when it comes to securing equal labor-market access and conditions for mothers of young children and non-mothers, public childcare provision has the strongest impact. In the absence of public childcare, not even the most highly educated mothers can cope.

Suggested Citation

  • Jerome De Henau & Daniele Meulders & Sile O'Dorchai, 2010. "Maybe Baby: Comparing Partnered Women's Employment and Child Policies in the EU-15," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 43-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:16:y:2010:i:1:p:43-77
    DOI: 10.1080/13545700903382703
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    1. Spieß, C. Katharina & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2006. "The Parental Leave Benefit Reform in Germany: Costs and Labour Market Outcomes of Moving towards the Scandinavian Model," IZA Discussion Papers 2372, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    3. Adrienne ten Cate, 2003. "The Impact of Provincial Maternity and Parental Leave Policies on Employment Rates of Women with Young Children in Canada," Department of Economics Working Papers 2003-03, McMaster University.
    4. Del Boca, Daniela & Locatelli, Marilena & Vuri, Daniela, 2004. "Child Care Choices by Italian Households," IZA Discussion Papers 983, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

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    2. Stijn Baert, 2014. "Career lesbians. Getting hired for not having kids?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(6), pages 543-561, November.
    3. Mariona Lozano & Elisenda Rentería, 2019. "Work in Transition: Labour Market Life Expectancy and Years Spent in Precarious Employment in Spain 1986–2016," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 185-200, August.
    4. Eliane El Badaoui & Eleonora Matteazzi, 2014. "To be a Mother, or not to be? Career and Wage Ladder in Italy and the UK," Working Papers hal-04141331, HAL.
    5. Tindara Addabbo & Anna Maccagnan, 2011. "The Italian Labour Market and the Crisis," Department of Economics 0644, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    6. Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2010. "Labour Market Status, Transitions and Gender: a European Perspective," Post-Print hal-00616799, HAL.
    7. Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2010. "Labour Market Status, Transitions and Gender: a European Perspective," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00616799, HAL.
    8. Anna Matysiak & Dorota Węziak-Białowolska, 2016. "Country-Specific Conditions for Work and Family Reconciliation: An Attempt at Quantification," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(4), pages 475-510, October.
    9. Paula Rodríguez-Modroño & Mauricio Matus López & Lina Gálvez-Muñoz, 2016. "Female labor force participation, inequality and household well-being in the Second Globalization. The Spanish case," Working Papers 16.02, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics, Quantitative Methods and Economic History.

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