Career, Family, and IVF: The Impact of Involuntary Childlessness and Fertility Treatment

Fabio I. Martinenghi () and Maryam Naghsh Nejad ()
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Fabio I. Martinenghi: University of Newcastle, Australia
Maryam Naghsh Nejad: University of Technology, Sydney

No 17965, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We use whole-population linked administrative data from Australia to ex- amine the economic and mental health impacts of IVF treatment and invol- untary childlessness. Leveraging detailed information on fertility treatment, income, and prescription drug use, we implement a dynamic triple-difference framework comparing women who remain childless five years after initiating IVF to those who successfully conceive. Results reveal large and persistent effects on both mental health and income. We further show that the IVF process itself leads to income declines among childless women, underscoring substantial unmeasured costs and suggesting downward bias in child penalty estimates that use unsuccessful IVF patients as controls.

Keywords: involuntary childlessness; IVF; mental health; labor market outcomes; fertility and career trade-offs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 I31 J13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-06
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