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Postpartum Job Loss: Transitory Effect on Mothers, Long-run Damage to Children

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  • Willage, Barton

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Willén, Alexander

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

The first year after childbirth involves dramatic changes to parents’ lives and is crucial for children’s development. Using plausibly exogenous job loss from mass layoffs, we study the effect of labor shocks on mothers and children. Mothers displaced in the postpartum year experience significantly larger effects than mothers displaced in non-birth years. No such effects are present among fathers. Additionally, we find long-lasting harm to children’s educational outcomes. These effects do not extend to children who experience maternal job loss later in life nor to children who experience paternal job loss. Examining potential mechanisms suggest effects are driven by maternal stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Willage, Barton & Willén, Alexander, 2020. "Postpartum Job Loss: Transitory Effect on Mothers, Long-run Damage to Children," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 22/2020, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2020_022
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    2. Ranveig Falch, 2021. "How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners?," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2021_04, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    3. Kjell G. Salvanes & Barton Willage & Alexander Willén, 2024. "The Effect of Labor Market Shocks across the Life Cycle," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 121-160.
    4. Sulin Sardoschau, 2023. "In-utero Exposure to Violence and Child Health in Iraq," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 452, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job Loss; Maternal Labor Supply; Education; Early Childhood; Fertility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • 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
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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