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Childbirth and women's labour market transitions in India (revised)

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  • Rosa Abraham
  • Rahul Lahoti
  • Hema Swaminathan

Abstract

The impact of childbirth on women's employment has been discussed extensively in the context of developed countries. Constraints on mothers' labour market participation and consequent fall in earnings are characterized as the 'motherhood penalty'. This phenomenon is relatively less explored in developing countries primarily because of the lack of suitable data. In this paper, we use primary data from India, collected via a life history calendar administered to men and women separately.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosa Abraham & Rahul Lahoti & Hema Swaminathan, 2021. "Childbirth and women's labour market transitions in India (revised)," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-149, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-149
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. S Anukriti & Catalina Herrera‐Almanza & Praveen K. Pathak & Mahesh Karra, 2020. "Curse of the Mummy‐ji: The Influence of Mothers‐in‐Law on Women in India†," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1328-1351, October.
    2. Farzana Afridi & Taryn Dinkelman & Kanika Mahajan, 2018. "Why are fewer married women joining the work force in rural India? A decomposition analysis over two decades," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 783-818, July.
    3. Chowdhury, Antara Rai & Surie, Aditi & Bhan, Gautam, 2021. "Breastfeeding knowledge and practices of working mothers in the informal economy in New Delhi: A formative study to explore new intervention pathways towards improved maternal and child health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Sarkhel, Sukanya & Mukherjee, Anirban, 2020. "Motherhood and labor market penalty: a study on Indian labor market," GLO Discussion Paper Series 673, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & Mata, Dolores de la & Edo, María & Marchionni, Mariana, 2021. "Gender gaps in labor informality: The motherhood effect," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Heike Solga, 2001. "Longitudinal Surveys and the Study of Occupational Mobility: Panel and Retrospective Design in Comparison," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 291-309, August.
    7. S Anukriti & Catalina Herrera-Almanza & Mahesh Karra & Praveen Kumar Pathak, 2020. "Curse of the Mummy-ji: The Influence of Mothers-in-Law on Women in India," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-337, Boston University - Department of Economics.
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