Clash of Career and Family: Fertility Decisions after Job DisplacementDel Bono, Emilia / Weber, Andrea / Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf
No CESifo Working Paper No. 2180, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo GmbH Abstract: In this paper we investigate how fertility decisions respond to unexpected career interruptions which occur as a consequence of job displacement. Using an event study approach we compare the birth rates of displaced women with those of women unaffected by job loss after establishing the pre-displacement comparability of these groups. Our results reveal that job displacement reduces average fertility by 5 to 10% in both the short and medium term (3 and 6 years) and that these effects are largely explained by the response of white collar women. Using an instrumental variable approach we provide evidence that the reduction in fertility is not due to the income loss generated by unemployment but arises because displaced workers undergo a career interruption. These results are interpreted in the light of a model in which the rate of human capital accumulation slows down after the birth of a child and all specific human capital is destroyed upon job loss. Keywords: fertility; unemployment; plant closings; human capital (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Access Statistics for this paper More papers in CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo GmbH |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
Econpapers is hosted by the
Swedish Business School at Örebro University.