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Are Men's Attitudes Holding Back Fertility and Women's Careers? Evidence from Europe

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Listed:
  • Giulia Briselli
  • Libertad González

Abstract

We propose that men's reluctance to increase their participation in childcare and household chores is an important factor keeping both fertility and women's employment low in Europe. We first show that, over time, European women express a stronger desire for men increasing their participation in home production. This trend is not observed for men. We propose a toy model of the household that illustrates how men's refusal to contribute to childcare can have negative effects on both fertility and women's labor supply. Finally, we use cross-country panel data and a two-way fixed effects specification to show that countries where the gender divergence in attitudes is more pronounced display both lower birth-rates and lower female employment rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Briselli & Libertad González, 2025. "Are Men's Attitudes Holding Back Fertility and Women's Careers? Evidence from Europe," Working Papers 1506, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1506
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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