Clash of Career and Family: Fertility Decisions after Job Displacement

66 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2008

See all articles by Emilia Del Bono

Emilia Del Bono

Institute for Social and Economic Research; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Andrea Weber

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO); Vienna University of Economics and Business; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Johannes Kepler University Linz - Department of Economics; Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) - Department of Economics & Finance; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 2008

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, human capital, plant closing, unemployment

JEL Classification: J13, J24, J64, J65

Suggested Citation

Del Bono, Emilia and Weber, Andrea Michaela and Weber, Andrea Michaela and Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, Clash of Career and Family: Fertility Decisions after Job Displacement (February 2008). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP6719, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1141625

Emilia Del Bono (Contact Author)

Institute for Social and Economic Research ( email )

Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/staff/staff-details.php?personID=678

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Andrea Michaela Weber

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) ( email )

P.O. Box 91
Wien, A-1103
Austria

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, 1020
Austria

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Johannes Kepler University Linz - Department of Economics ( email )

Altenbergerstrasse 69
A-4040 Linz, 4040
Austria
+43 732 2468 8236 (Phone)
+43 732 2468 8238 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.jku.at/winter

Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) - Department of Economics & Finance ( email )

Stumpergasse 56
A-1060 Vienna, A-1060
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://www.ihs.ac.at

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
7
Abstract Views
1,146
PlumX Metrics