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Motherhood, Pregnancy or Marriage Effects

Author

Listed:
  • Berniell, Inés
  • Berniell, Lucila
  • de la Mata, Dolores
  • Edo, María
  • Fawaz, Yarine
  • Machado, Matilde P.

Abstract

The existence of large child penalties on women’s labor market outcomes has been documented for multiple countries and time periods. In this paper, we assess to what extent marriage decisions and pregnancies (including those ending in non-live births), may explain partly these child penalties. Using data for 29 countries drawn from SHARE, we show that although marriage has a negative effect on women’s employment (3.3%), its magnitude is much smaller compared with the negative effect of a first child (23%). Moreover, we find that pregnancies that end in non-live births have non-statistically significant effects on employment in the following years, supporting the exogeneity assumption underlying the identification in child penalty studies. These new results lend support to the hypothesis that child-rearing, rather than marriage or pregnancy, is responsible for women exiting the labor force upon motherhood.

Suggested Citation

  • Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & de la Mata, Dolores & Edo, María & Fawaz, Yarine & Machado, Matilde P., 2021. "Motherhood, Pregnancy or Marriage Effects," Research Department working papers 1860, CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica.
    • Handle: RePEc:dbl:dblwop:1860
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    File URL: https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/1860
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    2. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & de la Mata, Dolores & Edo, María & Marchionni, Mariana, 2023. "Motherhood and flexible jobs: Evidence from Latin American countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Aguilar-Gomez, Sandra & Arceo-Gomez, Eva O. & De la Cruz Toledo, Elia, 2026. "Inside the black box of child penalties: Unpaid work and household structure," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Inés Berniell & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Mariana Viollaz, 2023. "The role of children and work-from-home in gender labor market asymmetries: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1191-1214, December.
    5. Sun, Ang & Xia, Fang & Zhang, Xuan, 2025. "The motherhood penalty on health: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).

    More about this item

    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
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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