Securing women's employment: A fertility booster in European countries?
Résumé
This article gives evidence that differences in completed fertility among European countries emerge
mainly as a result of fewer women having a second child in low fertility countries and analyses the
impact of women’s employment on the probability of second child birth. With longitudinal data from
the European Survey of Income and Living conditions (EU-SILC) and aggregated data from the
OECD Family Database, we find that, on average within European countries, women in stable
employment have a significantly higher probability of second childbirth than inactive or unemployed
women. However, while female employment generally favours a transition to second childbirth in
high-fertility countries, the impact is heterogenous in low-fertility countries. This points to a work-life
balance conflict that is stronger in low-fertility countries. To address this issue, multilevel models are
run to compare the role of various policies: not surprisingly, they show that childcare policies – which
are the most effective policies to secure women’s employment – are the most likely to encourage
couples to enlarge their families and that the positive effect of stable employment on fertility is
reinforced by this policy.
Domaines
Economies et finances
Origine :
Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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