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The Fertility and Women's Labor Force Participation puzzle in OECD Countries: The Role of Men's Home Production

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  • Joost de Laat
  • Almudena Sevilla-Sanz

Abstract

One effect of Southern Europe's rapid fertility decline is the emergence of a positive cross-country correlation between women's labor force participation and fertility across developed countries, despite the continuing negative correlation between these factors within countries. This study uses individual-level data for several OECD countries to examine how men's participation in home production can explain the positive relationship between fertility and women's labor force participation at the cross-country level. It finds that women living in countries where men participate more in home production are better able to combine having children with market work, leading to greater participation in the labor force at relatively high fertility levels. Within each country however, women with higher relative wages continue to have lower fertility and to participate more in the labor force than lower-paid women due to the higher opportunity cost of remaining at home. This finding on men's home production can thus explain the positive cross-country correlation between female labor force participation and fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Joost de Laat & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2011. "The Fertility and Women's Labor Force Participation puzzle in OECD Countries: The Role of Men's Home Production," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 87-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:17:y:2011:i:2:p:87-119
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2011.573484
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bethencourt, Carlos & Santos-Torres, Daniel, 2023. "Gender-role identity in adolescence and women fertility in adulthood," MPRA Paper 116321, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Volker Ziemann, 2015. "Towards more gender equality in Austria," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1273, OECD Publishing.
    3. Nobuko Nagase & Mary C. Brinton, 2017. "The gender division of labor and second births: Labor market institutions and fertility in Japan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(11), pages 339-370.
    4. García-Manglano, Javier & Nollenberger, Natalia & Sevilla, Almudena, 2014. "Gender, Time-Use, and Fertility Recovery in Industrialized Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 8613, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Tomáš Lichard & Filip Pertold & Samuel Škoda, 2021. "Do women face a glass ceiling at home? The division of household labor among dual-earner couples," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1209-1243, December.
    6. María Arrazola & José de Hevia, 2016. "The Gender Wage Gap in Offered, Observed, and Reservation Wages for Spain," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 101-128, October.
    7. Julia Bachtrögler & Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Paul Eckerstorfer & Peter Huber & Christine Mayrhuber & Mark Sommer & Gerhard Streicher, 2019. "Wachstumsfaktor Gleichstellung. Der ökonomische Nutzen von Gender Budgeting in Wien," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 65741.
    8. Salomé Goñi-Legaz & Andrea Ollo-López, 2015. "Factors that Determine the Use of Flexible Work Arrangement Practices in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 463-476, September.
    9. Christina Boll & Julian Leppin & Nora Reich, 2014. "Paternal childcare and parental leave policies: evidence from industrialized countries," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 129-158, March.
    10. Reich, Nora & Boll, Christina & Leppin, Julian Sebastian, 2012. "Fathers' childcare and parental leave policies: Evidence from Western European Countries and Canada," HWWI Research Papers 115, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    11. Kristen Harknett & Francesco Billari & Carla Medalia, 2014. "Do Family Support Environments Influence Fertility? Evidence from 20 European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 1-33, February.
    12. Pignatti, Norberto & Torosyan, Karine & Chitanava, Maka, 2016. "Toothless Reforms? The Remarkable Stability of Female Labor Force Participation in a Top-Reforming Country," IZA Discussion Papers 10440, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Muzhi Zhou & Man-Yee Kan, 2019. "A new family equilibrium? Changing dynamics between the gender division of labor and fertility in Great Britain, 1991–2017," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(50), pages 1455-1500.
    14. Marisa Bucheli & Cecilia Lara, 2018. "Revealing gender gap changes in home production and labor income in Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 18-12, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    15. Kristin Snopkowski, 2023. "Division of Household Labour and Fertility Outcomes Among Dual‐Income Australian Couples," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 56(4), pages 524-537, December.
    16. Christina Felfe & Natalia Nollenberger & Núria Rodríguez-Planas, 2015. "Can’t buy mommy’s love? Universal childcare and children’s long-term cognitive development," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 393-422, April.
    17. Shelly Lundberg, 2023. "Gender Economics: Dead-Ends and New Opportunities," Research in Labor Economics, in: 50th Celebratory Volume, volume 50, pages 151-189, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    18. Alícia Adserà, 2017. "Education and fertility in the context of rising inequality," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 15(1), pages 063-94.
    19. Sara de la Rica & Lucía Gorjón, 2016. "The impact of family-friendly policies in Spain and their use throughout the business cycle," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-26, December.
    20. Erin Hye-Won Kim, 2017. "Division of domestic labour and lowest-low fertility in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(24), pages 743-768.
    21. Spitzer, Sonja & Hammer, Bernhard, 2016. "The Division of Labour Within Households: Fractional Logit Estimates based on the Austrian Time Use Survey," MPRA Paper 81791, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Mengni Chen & Stuart Gietel-Basten & Paul S. F. Yip, 2020. "Targeting and Mistargeting of Family Policies in High-Income Pacific Asian Societies: A Review of Financial Incentives," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(3), pages 389-413, June.
    23. Zhiyun Li & Hualei Yang & Xianchen Zhu & Lin Xie, 2021. "A Multilevel Study of the Impact of Egalitarian Attitudes Toward Gender Roles on Fertility Desires in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 747-769, August.

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