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How can gender discrimination explain fertility behaviors and family-friendly policies?

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  • Magali Recoules

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the interaction between gender discrimination and household decisions. It develops a model with endogenous fertility, endogenous labor supply and endogenous size of government spending. Family policies which concern childcare services are assumed to reduce the time that parents spend on their children. The model shows that gender discrimination may explain differences in household decisions between countries. The solution shows a U-shaped relationship between fertility and gender discrimination if the quality of childcare services is sufficiently high. In the decreasing part of this U-shaped curve, a decrease in the discrimination level implies a related increase in fertility, women's participation in the labor force and in family-friendly policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Magali Recoules, 2011. "How can gender discrimination explain fertility behaviors and family-friendly policies?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00675601, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00675601
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00675601
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mayssun El-Attar, 2013. "Trust, child care technology choice and female labor force participation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 507-544, December.
    2. Wang, Ruiting & Xu, Gang, 2020. "Can child allowances improve fertility in a gender discrimination economy?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 162-174.
    3. Pierre‐Richard Agénor & Kamer K. Ozdemir & Emmanuel Pinto Moreira, 2021. "Gender Gaps in the Labour Market and Economic Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(350), pages 235-270, April.

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