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Businesses, Buddies, and Babies: Fertility and Social Interactions at Work

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  • Asphjell, Magne K.

    (NHH)

  • Hensvik, Lena

    (Uppsala Center for Labor Studies)

  • Nilsson, J. Peter

    (Uppsala Center for Labor Studies)

Abstract

This paper examines how fertility decisions are transmitted within the workplace. Informed by a simple real options model of timing of investments under uncertainty, we show that recent births among co-workers affect women's subsequent childbearing using populationwide matched employer-employee panel data. We further documentthat the peer effect varies with the degree of similarity between coworkers, and that social infuences seems to be a more important mechanism behind the fertility peer effect than social learning in our context.

Suggested Citation

  • Asphjell, Magne K. & Hensvik, Lena & Nilsson, J. Peter, 2013. "Businesses, Buddies, and Babies: Fertility and Social Interactions at Work," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2013:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:uulswp:2013_008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Maria De Paola & Roberto Nisticò & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2024. "Workplace Peer Effects in Fertility Decisions," CSEF Working Papers 714, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    2. Mota, Nuno & Patacchini, Eleonora & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2016. "Neighborhood Effects, Peer Classification, and the Decision of Women to Work," IZA Discussion Papers 9985, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Welteke, Clara & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2019. "Peer effects in parental leave decisions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 146-163.
    4. Clara Welteke, 2015. "Peers at Work - a Brief Overview of the Literature on Peer Effects at the Workplace and the Policy Implications," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 68, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Johansson, Per & Karimi, Arizo & Nilsson, J Peter, 2014. "Gender differences in shirking: monitoring or social preferences? Evidence from a field experiment," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2014:2, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    6. Abhishek Kumar & Valeria Bordone & Raya Muttarak, 2016. "Like Mother(-in-Law) Like Daughter? Influence of the Older Generation’s Fertility Behaviours on Women’s Desired Family Size in Bihar, India," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 629-660, December.
    7. Olga Yakusheva, 2017. "Health Spillovers among Hospital Patients: Evidence from Roommate Assignments," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 3(1), pages 76-107, Winter.
    8. Zafer Buyukkececi & Thomas Leopold & Ruben Gaalen & Henriette Engelhardt, 2020. "Family, Firms, and Fertility: A Study of Social Interaction Effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 243-266, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Peer effects; social infuences; co-workers; real options;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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