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The Career Costs of Children

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  • Jérôme Adda
  • Christian Dustmann
  • Katrien Stevens

Abstract

We estimate a dynamic life-cycle model of labor supply, fertility and savings, incorporating occupational choices, with specific wage paths and skill atrophy that vary over the career. This allows us to understand the trade-off between occupational choice and desired fertility, as well as the sorting both into the labor market and across occupations. We quantify the life-cycle career costs associated with children, how they decompose into loss of skills during interruptions, lost earnings opportunities and selection into more child-friendly occupations. We analyze the long-run effects of policies that encourage fertility and show that they are considerably smaller than short-run effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Jérôme Adda & Christian Dustmann & Katrien Stevens, 2016. "The Career Costs of Children," CESifo Working Paper Series 6158, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6158
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; labor supply; occupation; dynamic structural model; gender wage gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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