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Skill premium effects on fertility and female labor force supply

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  • Dolores Ferrero Martínez
  • Amaia Iza

Abstract

In the last twenty years the United States has seen a positive relationship between female labor supply and total fertility rates, which differs from the pattern observed over the preceding years. We construct a general equilibrium overlapping generations model capable of generating this changing relationship between fertility and female labor supply. We argue that skilled biased technological change in recent decades has increased the skill premium and has therefore decreased the relative cost of (unskilled) child care services. The positive effect of the increase in female mean wages on fertility rates, and the inducement for labor force participation provided by the reduction in the relative cost of child care services, generated the positive relationship between fertility rates and female labor force participation in the last two decades. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2004

Suggested Citation

  • Dolores Ferrero Martínez & Amaia Iza, 2004. "Skill premium effects on fertility and female labor force supply," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:17:y:2004:i:1:p:1-16
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-003-0150-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    J10; J12; Female labor supply; fertility rates; child care; skill premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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