Postpartum Job Loss: Transitory Effect on Mothers, Long-run Damage to Children

Barton Willage and Alexander Willén ()

No 22/2020, Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics

Abstract: The first year after childbirth involves dramatic changes to parents’ lives and is crucial for children’s development. Using plausibly exogenous job loss from mass layoffs, we study the effect of labor shocks on mothers and children. Mothers displaced in the postpartum year experience significantly larger effects than mothers displaced in non-birth years. No such effects are present among fathers. Additionally, we find long-lasting harm to children’s educational outcomes. These effects do not extend to children who experience maternal job loss later in life nor to children who experience paternal job loss. Examining potential mechanisms suggest effects are driven by maternal stress.

Keywords: Job Loss; Maternal Labor Supply; Education; Early Childhood; Fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 I24 J13 J16 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2020-11-19
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Journal Article: Postpartum Job Loss: Transitory Effect on Mothers, Long-run Damage to Children (2022)
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