HAVING A SECOND CHILD AND ACCESS TO CHILDCARE: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

This paper shows that differences in fertility across European countries mainly emerge due to fewer women having two children in low-fertility countries. It further suggests that childcare services are an important determinant for the transition to a second child to occur. The theoretical framework...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin de l'Institut de recherches économiques et sociales 2017-06, Vol.83 (2), p.177-210
Main Authors: d’Albis, Hippolyte, Gobbi, Paula E., Greulich, Angela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Age
Births
Child care
Child care services
Children
Children & youth
Couples
Demography
Economic development
Economic models
Economics and Finance
Education
Employment
Families & family life
Female employees
Fertility
Gender pay gap
Humanities and Social Sciences
Income
Industrialized nations
Labor force
Living conditions
Mothers
Parents & parenting
Probability
Research Papers
Wages & salaries
Women
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Summary:This paper shows that differences in fertility across European countries mainly emerge due to fewer women having two children in low-fertility countries. It further suggests that childcare services are an important determinant for the transition to a second child to occur. The theoretical framework we propose suggests that (i) in countries where childcare coverage is low, there is a U-shaped relationship between a couple’s probability of having a second child and the woman’s potential wage, whereas (ii) in countries with easy access to childcare, this probability is positively related with the woman’s potential wage. Data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) confirm these implications when estimating a woman’s probability of having a second child as a function of education. This implies that middle-income women are the most affected ones by the lack of access to formal and subsidized childcare.
ISSN:2054-0892
1373-9719
2054-0906
DOI:10.1017/dem.2017.2