IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/bofitp/bdp2019_014.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Fertility cost, intergenerational labor division, and female employment

Author

Listed:
  • Yu, Haiyue
  • Cao, Jin
  • Kang, Shulong

Abstract

This paper considers the role of grandparental childcare in China's extraordinarily high female labor-market participation rate. Indeed, the high female labor-market participation and low labor-income penalty for childbirth is all the more remarkable given the lack of public subsidies for childcare. Using a novel and high-quality dataset, we find that childcare provided by retired grandparents significantly reduces the duration of career breaks for young women and helps women remain in the labor force. We further show that well-educated urban women benefit most from grandparental childcare, especially in the first three years of the child's life before there is a possibility to enter kindergarten.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Haiyue & Cao, Jin & Kang, Shulong, 2019. "Fertility cost, intergenerational labor division, and female employment," BOFIT Discussion Papers 14/2019, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bofitp:bdp2019_014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/212922/1/bofit-dp2019-014.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Gruber & David A. Wise, 2010. "Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number grub08-1, June.
    2. Deborah J. Anderson & Melissa Binder & Kate Krause, 2002. "The Motherhood Wage Penalty: Which Mothers Pay It and Why?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 354-358, May.
    3. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2007. "Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women: 1980–2000," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(3), pages 393-438.
    4. Eva Garcia-Moran & Zoe Kuehn, 2017. "With Strings Attached: Grandparent-Provided Child Care and Female Labor Market Outcomes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 23, pages 80-98, January.
    5. Arnstein Aassve & Bruno Arpino & Alice Goisis, 2012. "Grandparenting and mothers’ labour force participation: A comparative analysis using the Generations and Gender Survey," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(3), pages 53-84.
    6. Ashenfelter, Orley & Heckman, James J, 1974. "The Estimation of Income and Substitution Effects in a Model of Family Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(1), pages 73-85, January.
    7. Markus Gangl & Andrea Ziefle, 2009. "Motherhood, labor force behavior, and women’s careers: An empirical assessment of the wage penalty for motherhood in britain, germany, and the united states," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(2), pages 341-369, May.
    8. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Massimiliano Bratti & Tommaso Frattini & Francesco Scervini, 2018. "Grandparental availability for child care and maternal labor force participation: pension reform evidence from Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1239-1277, October.
    10. Julian P. Cristia, 2008. "The Effect of a First Child on Female Labor Supply: Evidence from Women Seeking Fertility Services," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(3), pages 487-510.
    11. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, June.
    12. Bruno Arpino & Chiara Pronzato & Lara Tavares, 2014. "The Effect of Grandparental Support on Mothers’ Labour Market Participation: An Instrumental Variable Approach," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(4), pages 369-390, November.
    13. Robin Lumsdaine & Stephanie Vermeer, 2015. "Retirement Timing of Women and the Role of Care Responsibilities for Grandchildren," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 433-454, April.
    14. Barbara Entwisle & Feinian Chen, 2002. "Work Patterns Following a Birth in Urban and Rural China: A Longitudinal Study," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 99-119, June.
    15. José Molina & Víctor Montuenga, 2009. "The Motherhood Wage Penalty in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 237-251, September.
    16. Compton, Janice & Pollak, Robert A., 2014. "Family proximity, childcare, and women’s labor force attachment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 72-90.
    17. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    18. Polachek, Solomon William, 1981. "Occupational Self-Selection: A Human Capital Approach to Sex Differences in Occupational Structure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(1), pages 60-69, February.
    19. Ralitza Dimova & François-Charles Wolff, 2011. "Do downward private transfers enhance maternal labor supply? Evidence from around Europe," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(3), pages 911-933, July.
    20. Connelly, Rachel, 1992. "The Effect of Child Care Costs on Married Women's Labor Force Participation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(1), pages 83-90, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haiyue Yu & Jin Cao & Shulong Kang, 2018. "Fertility Cost, Intergenerational Labor Division, and Female Employment," CESifo Working Paper Series 7293, CESifo.
    2. repec:zbw:bofitp:2019_014 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Haiyue Yu & Jin Cao & Shulong Kang, 2018. "Fertility Cost, Intergenerational Labor Division, and Female Employment," CESifo Working Paper Series 7293, CESifo.
    4. Haiyue Yu & Jin Cao & Shulong Kang, 2023. "Fertility cost, grandparental childcare, and female employment," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 1067-1104, March.
    5. repec:zbw:bofitp:2021_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Yu, Haiyue & Cao, Jin & Kang, Shulong, 2021. "Who cares : Deciphering China’s female employment paradox," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2021, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    7. Yu, Haiyue & Cao, Jin & Kang, Shulong, 2021. "Who cares: Deciphering China's female employment paradox," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2021, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    8. Pelin Akyol & Zeynep Yılmaz, 2024. "Effects of Grandmothers' Proximity on Mothers' Labour Force Participation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 86(5), pages 1122-1162, October.
    9. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Bernhard Schmidpeter & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2022. "Grandmothers’ Labor Supply," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1645-1689.
    10. Ainoa Aparicio Fenoll, 2020. "The uneven impact of women's retirement on their daughters' employment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 795-821, September.
    11. Garrett Anstreicher & Joanna Venator, 2022. "To Grandmother’s House We Go: Childcare Time Transfers and Female Labor Mobility," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 1051, Boston College Department of Economics.
    12. Gema Zamarro, 2020. "Family labor participation and child care decisions: the role of grannies," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 287-312, September.
    13. Zhengyu Cai & Heather M. Stephens & John V. Winters, 2019. "Motherhood, migration, and self-employment of college graduates," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 611-629, October.
    14. Julius Ilciukas, 2022. "Fertility and Parental Retirement," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-021/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    15. Eibich, Peter & Siedler, Thomas, 2020. "Retirement, intergenerational time transfers, and fertility," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    16. Molina, José Alberto & Montuenga, Víctor M., 2008. "The Motherhood Wage Penalty in a Mediterranean Country: The Case of Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 3574, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Lusi Liao & Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat, 2022. "Alternative boomerang kids, intergenerational co-residence, and maternal labor supply," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 609-634, June.
    18. Bruno Arpino & Chiara Pronzato & Lara Tavares, 2014. "The Effect of Grandparental Support on Mothers’ Labour Market Participation: An Instrumental Variable Approach," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(4), pages 369-390, November.
    19. Fuchs, Michaela & Rossen, Anja & Weyh, Antje & Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele, 2019. "Why do women earn more than men in some regions? : Explaining regional differences in the gender pay gap in Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 201911, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    20. Nieto, Adrián, 2021. "Native-immigrant differences in the effect of children on the gender pay gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 654-680.
    21. Ke Shen & Ping Yan & Yi Zeng, 2016. "Coresidence with elderly parents and female labor supply in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(23), pages 645-670.
    22. Massimiliano Bratti & Tommaso Frattini & Francesco Scervini, 2018. "Grandparental availability for child care and maternal labor force participation: pension reform evidence from Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1239-1277, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational labor division; grandparental childcare; female employment; human capital accumulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:bofitp:bdp2019_014. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bofitfi.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.