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Title: The Effect of Fertility on Women’s Labor Supply: Heterogeneity by Gender Norms

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2021

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Abstract: This paper asks whether the effect of fertility on women’s labor supply depends on gender norms. To separate the role of gender norms from institutional features, I compare the labor supply response to children among women living in the United States but born in different countries. Hence, I compare native to immigrant women and, within immigrants, those born in less and more gender-egalitarian countries. I instrument for the variable of interest, having more than two children, with the sex composition of the first two children. The findings show that women from all countries reduce employment due to having more than two children. Yet, this effect is substantially larger for women born in less gender-egalitarian countries. In particular, women from countries with the least egalitarian gender norms have an employment response three times larger than the employment response of natives. Thus, the negative effect of fertility on the labor supply decreases with gender egalitarianism.

Url: https://elisataveras.com/files/FertilityGenderNorms.pdf

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Authors: Taveras, Elisa

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Institution: Binfhamton University

Pages: 1-49

Publisher Location: Binghamton

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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