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The child penalty: evidence from Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Alicia Quinto

    (Banco de España)

  • Laura Hospido

    (Banco de España and IZA Institute of Labor Economics)

  • Carlos Sanz

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

Using data from social security records and an event study approach, we estimate the child penalty in Spain, looking at disparities for women and men across different labor outcomes following the birth of the first child. Our findings show that, the year after the first child is born, mothers’ annual earnings drop by 11% while men’s remain unchanged. The gender gap is even larger 10 years after birth. Our estimate of the long-run child penalty in earnings equals 28%, similar to those found for Denmark, Finland, Sweden or the USA. In addition, we identify channels that may drive this phenomenon, including reductions in working days and shifts to part-time or fixed-term contracts. Finally, we provide evidence of heterogeneous responses in earnings and labor market participation by educational level: college-educated women react to motherhood more on the intensive margin (working part-time), while non-college-educated women are relatively more likely to do so in the extensive margin (working fewer days).

Suggested Citation

  • Alicia Quinto & Laura Hospido & Carlos Sanz, 2021. "The child penalty: evidence from Spain," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 585-606, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:series:v:12:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s13209-021-00241-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s13209-021-00241-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Brindusa Anghel & J. Ignacio Conde-Ruiz, 2023. "Brechas Salariales de Genero Ajustadas en España: 2002-2018," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2023-06, FEDEA.
    2. Christl, Michael & De Poli, Silvia & Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė, Viginta, 2022. "The lock-in effect of marriage: Work incentives after saying, "Yes, I do."," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1142, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Jose Garcia-Louzao & Ruben Perez-Sanz, 2024. "Women’s Voice at Work and Family-Friendly Firms," CESifo Working Paper Series 10982, CESifo.
    4. Jonas Jessen & Lavinia Kinne & Michele Battisti, 2024. "Child Penalties in Labour Market Skills," CEPA Discussion Papers 81, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Alicia De Quinto & Libertad González, 2024. "The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Family-Friendly Policies on Women's Employment," Working Papers 1434, Barcelona School of Economics.
    6. Juan Pedro Eberhard & Javier Fernandez & Catalina Lauer, 2023. "Effects of maternity on labor outcomes and employment quality for women in Chile," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 2232965-223, December.
    7. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & de la Mata, Dolores & Edo, María & Fawaz, Yarine & Machado, Matilde P. & Marchionni, Mariana, 2022. "Motherhood, pregnancy or marriage effects?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    8. Yung-Yu Tsai & Hsing-Wen Han & Kuang-Ta Lo & Tzu-Ting Yang, 2022. "The Effect of Financial Resources on Fertility: Evidence fromAdministrative Data on Lottery Winners," IEAS Working Paper : academic research 22-A007, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
    9. Luis Guirola & Laura Hospido & Andrea Weber, 2024. "Family and career: an analysis across Europe and North America," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 243-257, June.
    10. Yung-Yu Tsai & Hsing-Wen Han & Kuang-Ta Lo & Tzu-Ting Yang, 2022. "The Effect of Financial Resources on Fertility: Evidence from Administrative Data on Lottery Winners," Papers 2212.06223, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2023.
    11. Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti & Laura Hospido & Andrés Atienza-Maeso, 2024. "Is Equality Regulation Effective in Reducing Gender Gaps in the Labor Market? Quantification and Evidence for Spain," Working papers 943, Banque de France.
    12. Michael Christl & Silvia De Poli & Viginta Ivaskaite-Tamosiune, 2022. "The lock-in effect of marriage: Work incentives after saying, “Yes, I do.â€," Working Papers 615, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    13. Zhang, Mingxue & Wang, Yue & Hou, Lingling, 2024. "Gender norms and the child penalty in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 277-291.
    14. Cervini, Maria & Silva, José I., 2023. "Childcare restrictions and gender gap in labor outcomes," MPRA Paper 118957, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Alicia De Quinto & Libertad González Luna, 2024. "The short- and long-term effects of family-friendly policies on women's employment," Economics Working Papers 1881, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    16. Alessandra Casarico & Elena Del Rey & Jose I. Silva, 2023. "Child care costs, household liquidity constraints, and gender inequality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1461-1487, July.
    17. Weber, Andrea & Hospido, Laura & Guirola, Luis, 2024. "Family and Career: A Multi-Country Analysis," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302357, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Amaia Palencia-Esteban, 2022. "Immigration, childcare and gender differences in the Spanish labor market," Working Papers 610, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; Labor supply; Employment; Wages; Fertility differentials; Parenting; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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