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Employment and Fertility Decisions in Italy, France and the U.K

Author

Listed:
  • Daniela Del Boca
  • Silvia Pasqua
  • Chiara Pronzato

Abstract

According to the agenda for employment set by the EU in 2000 for the following ten years, the target for female employment was set at 60 per cent for the year 2010. While Northern and most Continental countries have achieved this quantitative target, the Mediterranean countries are lagging behind. Labor market policies should be aimed to encourage women’s participation and reduce the cost of working. However the persistence of a negative relationship between participation and fertility in these countries implies that it is important to take fertility into account . We analyze a model of labor supply and fertility, using data from the ECHP (European Community Household Panel) for the period 1994-2000, merged with regional data describing the available labor market opportunities in the households’ environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniela Del Boca & Silvia Pasqua & Chiara Pronzato, 2004. "Employment and Fertility Decisions in Italy, France and the U.K," CHILD Working Papers wp08_04, CHILD - Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic economics - ITALY.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpc:wplist:wp08_04
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Prifti, Ervin & Vuri, Daniela, 2013. "Employment protection and fertility: Evidence from the 1990 Italian reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 77-88.
    2. Lia Pacelli & Silvia Pasqua & Claudia Villosio, 2007. "What Does the Stork Bring to Women’s Working Career?," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 58, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies.
    3. Daniela Del Boca & Silvia Pasqua, 2005. "Social Policies and Employment of Married Women in Europe," CHILD Working Papers wp19_05, CHILD - Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic economics - ITALY.
    4. Del Boca, Daniela & Locatelli, Marilena, 2006. "The Determinants of Motherhood and Work Status: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 2414, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Pamela Campa & Alessandra Casarico & Paola Profeta, 2011. "Gender Culture and Gender Gap in Employment," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 57(1), pages 156-182, March.
    6. Adele Menniti & Pietro Demurtas, 2012. "(English) Gender inequality and housework (Italiano) Disuguaglianze di genere e attività domestiche," IRPPS Working Papers 47:2012, National Research Council, Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies.
    7. Carmen Aina & Fernanda Mazzotta & Lavinia Parisi, 2010. "Gender Differences in Money Transfers within the Family. Evidence from Italy," Working Papers 133, SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont.
    8. Shane Niall, OHiggins, 2006. "Still With us After all of These Years: Trends in Youth Labour Market Entry, Home-Leaving And Human Capital Accumulation in Italy 1993-2003," CELPE Discussion Papers 99, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    9. Aldieri, Luigi & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2010. "An investigation of the relation between the number of children and education in Italy," MPRA Paper 28534, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Reich, Nora, 2008. "Das Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz in Deutschland: Analyse potenzieller Effekte auf Geburtenzahl und Fertilitätsstruktur," HWWI Policy Papers 1-10, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    11. Alessandra De Rose & Filomena Racioppi & Anna Laura Zanatta, 2008. "Italy: Delayed adaptation of social institutions to changes in family behaviour," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(19), pages 665-704.
    12. Luigi Aldieri & Adriana Barone & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2006. "Human capital and fertility decisions in Italy: a microeconometric analysis of ECHP data," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 49(4), pages 281-292.
    13. Lia Pacelli & Silvia Pasqua & Claudia Villosio, 2013. "Labor Market Penalties for Mothers in Italy," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 408-432, December.
    14. Anna Matysiak & Monika Mynarska, 2013. "Women’s self-employment in Poland: A strategy for combining work and childcare?," Working Papers 68, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Market Decisions; Fertility; Childcare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior

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