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Having It All? Employment, Earnings, and Children

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  • Tobias Laun
  • Johanna Wallenius

Abstract

We study the effect of family policies on female employment, fertility, and the gender wage gap. We develop a life‐cycle model of heterogeneous households featuring endogenous labor supply, human capital accumulation, fertility, and home production. Our results suggest that human capital accumulation is important in accounting for the widening of the gender wage gap following children. We find that, in aggregate, childcare subsidies promote maternal employment and fertility, although the effects are heterogeneous across couples. A subsidy on home goods increases female employment, but primarily later in life. Thus, it does not dampen the widening of the gender gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias Laun & Johanna Wallenius, 2021. "Having It All? Employment, Earnings, and Children," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 353-381, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:123:y:2021:i:1:p:353-381
    DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12346
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    Cited by:

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    2. Paule-Paludkiewicz, Hannah, 2020. "Does the Right to Work Part-Time Affect Mothers' Labor Market Outcomes?," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224556, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Meekes, Jordy & Hassink, Wolter H.J., 2022. "Gender differences in job flexibility: Commutes and working hours after job loss," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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