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Maternity Leave, Effort Allocation, and Postmotherhood Earnings

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  • Evgenia Kogan Dechter

Abstract

Women with children earn less than women without children. I study this wage gap using a dynamic model of human capital accumulation with endogenous time and effort allocation between household and market activities. Selection into motherhood does not drive the gap in hourly wage. I decompose this gap into forgone human capital and changing effort at work. Human capital depreciates as a result of maternity leave and accumulates at a lower rate after childbirth because of a reduction in work hours. Effort at work does not decline after childbirth. Reduced human capital accumulation explains the entire postmotherhood loss in hourly wage.

Suggested Citation

  • Evgenia Kogan Dechter, 2014. "Maternity Leave, Effort Allocation, and Postmotherhood Earnings," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(2), pages 97-125.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/677324
    DOI: 10.1086/677324
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Кирюшина М. А. & Рудаков В. Н., 2021. "Гендерные Различия В Заработной Плате Выпускников Вузов И Учреждений Спо На Начальном Этапе Карьеры," Вопросы образования // Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 172-198.
    2. Margarita Kiryushina & Victor Rudakov, 2021. "The Gender Gap in Early-Career Wages of Universities' and Vocational Education Institutes' Graduates," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 172-198.
    3. Eva M. Berger & Luke Haywood, 2016. "Locus of Control and Mothers’ Return to Employment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 442-481.
    4. repec:cge:wacage:518 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Seyyed Ali Zeytoon Nejad Moosavian, 2022. "Identifying the Effect of Parenthood on Labor Force Participation: A Gender Comparison," Papers 2209.02743, arXiv.org.
    6. Seyyed Ali Z.N. MOOSAVIAN, 2021. "Identifying the effect of parenthood on labor force participation: A gender comparison," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, EconSciences Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 207-238, September.
    7. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "Motherhood in Academia : A Novel Dataset with an Application to Maternity Leave Uptake," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1312, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    8. Tamar Khitarishvili, 2018. "Gender Pay Gaps in the Former Soviet Union: A Review of the Evidence," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_899, Levy Economics Institute.
    9. Tamar Khitarishvili, 2016. "Two tales of contraction: gender wage gap in Georgia before and after the 2008 crisis," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, December.
    10. repec:cge:wacage:519 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Jason Fletcher & Joel Han, 2019. "Intergenerational Mobility in Education: Variation in Geography and Time," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(4), pages 585-634.
    12. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "The Motherhood Penalties : Insights from Women in UK Academia," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1313, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

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