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Dissecting child penalties

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre Pora

    (INSEE - Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE))

  • Lionel Wilner

    (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - ENSAE Paris - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

We relate mothers' children-related labor earnings losses, child penalties, to their location in the distribution of potential hourly wages. Using French administrative data and based on an event study approach, we show that the magnitude of these earnings losses decreases steeply along that distribution. This heterogeneity is the result of low-wage mothers leaving the labor market and more frequently reducing their working hours. By contrast, fathers' labor market outcomes do not vary upon the arrival of children, regardless of their location in the distribution of potential hourly wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Pora & Lionel Wilner, 2024. "Dissecting child penalties," Post-Print hal-04799411, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04799411
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04799411v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesca Barigozzi & Helmuth Cremer & Emmanuel Thibault, 2024. "The motherhood wage and income traps," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 1-26, December.
    2. Artmann, Elisabeth & Oosterbeek, Hessel & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2022. "Household specialization and the child penalty in the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Stephen Bazen & Hélène Périvier & Xavier Joutard, 2021. "Measuring the Child Penalty Early in a Career: The Case of Young Adults in France," Working Papers halshs-03557555, HAL.
    4. Stephen Bazen & Xavier Joutard & Hélène Périvier, 2021. "Measuring the Child Penalty Early in a Career," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-03451099, HAL.
    5. Elass, Kenza, 2024. "Male and female selection effects on gender wage gaps in three countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. Alicia Quinto & Laura Hospido & Carlos Sanz, 2021. "The child penalty: evidence from Spain," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 585-606, December.
    7. Simon Rabaté & Sara Rellstab, 2022. "What Determines the Child Penalty in the Netherlands? The Role of Policy and Norms," De Economist, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 195-229, May.
    8. Pierre Pora, 2020. "Keep Working and Spend Less? Collective Childcare and Parental Earnings in France," EconomiX Working Papers 2020-29, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    9. Pora, Pierre, 2025. "The supply of nursing labor in French hospitals: Outflows, part-time work and motherhood," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Simon Rabaté & Externe auteur: Sara Rellstab, 2021. "The Child Penalty in the Netherlands and its Determinants," CPB Discussion Paper 424, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    11. Carole Bonnet & Léa Dubreuil & Bertrand Garbinti & Pierre Pora, 2025. "Child Penalty & The Rise in Within-Couple Income Inequality," Working Papers 2025-08, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.

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    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
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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