Family Size and Men’s Labor Market Outcomes: Do Social Beliefs About Men’s Roles in the Family Matter?

This article provides evidence on the relationship between fathers’ labor market outcomes and number of children. Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and instrumental variable models, this study examines how family size is related to fathers’ probability of employment, number of paid working hours, job rank, wages, and job stability across European countries with diverse social beliefs about men’s financial and caregiving responsibilities. Results show that having a larger family is associated with increases in fathers’ share of paid working hours, chances of having a permanent contract and a managerial position, and wages. These findings are, however, largely due to selection. Net of selection, fathers tend to increase paid working hours and are more likely to be promoted after childbirth only in countries where they are considered the main income providers, and acceptance of involved fatherhood is weak. The magnitude of these effects is small, however.HIGHLIGHTS Family size is positively correlated with fathers’ labor market outcomes in Europe.Having more children is associated with higher job rank, wages, and job stability.Multiple births are the source of exogenous variation in the number of children.Net of selection, family size premium for fathers depends on gender ideologies.In less-egalitarian countries, family size brings more labor market rewards.