Fertility and economic instability: the role of unemployment and job displacement

In this paper, we study the separate effects of unemployment and job displacement on fertility in a sample of white collar women in Austria. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show that unemployment incidence as such has no negative effect on fertility decisions, but the very fact of being...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of population economics 2015-04, Vol.28 (2), p.463-478
Main Authors: Bono, Emilia Del, Weber, Andrea, Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Austria
Careers
Demography
Displacement
Economic conditions
Economic statistics
Economics
Economics and Finance
Employment
Females
Fertility
Human capital
Labor Economics
Labor market
Maternity & paternity leaves
Original Paper
Part time employment
Population Economics
Shutdowns
Social Policy
Statistical analysis
Unemployment
Unemployment benefits
White collar workers
Women
Workers
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Summary:In this paper, we study the separate effects of unemployment and job displacement on fertility in a sample of white collar women in Austria. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show that unemployment incidence as such has no negative effect on fertility decisions, but the very fact of being displaced from a career-oriented job has. Fertility rates for women affected by a firm closure are significantly below those of a control group, even after 6 years, and this is so irrespective of the incidence or the duration of the associated unemployment spell.
ISSN:0933-1433
1432-1475
DOI:10.1007/s00148-014-0531-y