Working and Educated Women: Culprits of a European Kinder-Crisis?
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Working and Educated Women: Culprits of a European Kinder-Crisis? Elizabeth A. DiCioccioa and Phanindra V. Wunnavab a
Merrill Lynch Private Equity Group, Merrill Lynch Financial Centre, London EC1A 1HQ, UK Economics Department, Middlebury College, Warner Hall 502F, Middlebury, Vermont 05753, USA; and IZA (BONN, GERMANY) E-mail: [email protected] b
Recently, many industrialized countries have posted fertility rates below the replacement rate, generating concern that populations in these countries are rapidly declining. Low fertility rates are often believed to be the result of greater opportunities for women in the workforce and in higher education. Past studies have reinforced this belief by showing that a negative correlation often exists between female labor force participation and fertility and female higher education attainment and fertility. This study uses crosssectional time-series data for 13 European Union (EU) countries covering the years 1990–2003 to test whether this negative relationship between workforce participation and fertility still exists. The findings of this study show that neither increased female education nor increased labor force participation were significant in determining fertility. However, other social and labor market trends, such as the prevalence of part-time employment, unemployment rate, age at marriage, and contraceptive use, were found to be significant. Eastern Economic Journal (2008) 34, 213–222. doi:10.1057/palgrave.eej.9050029 Keywords: childbearing; child care; fertility; lafor force participation JEL: J13; J21; J33
INTRODUCTION In recent decades, a growing number of developed countries have experienced dwindling fertility rates. Decreasing fertility rates in such countries can potentially be attributed to the evolution of greater opportunities for women in industrialized nations. It is conceivable that the responsibilities associated with childbearing have become increasingly difficult to manage as the opportunities in higher education and careers have grown for women. As the development of opportunities for women is among the greatest indicator of social progress for developed countries in recent years, such opportunities should continue to be strongly promoted. However, if this social progress is significantly contributing to lower fertility rates, countries with shrinking populations may also find these trends worrisome. Hence, the aim of the empirical testing in this study is to determine whether female labor force participation is a principal culprit of lower fertility rates in European Union (EU) countries. Previous studies that have tested this relationship have used data that extended back at least into the 1970s [Becker and Lewis 1973; Willis 1973; Engelhardt et al. 2001; Del Boca 2003]. When using this time frame, it is more likely that workforce participation will negatively influence fertility decisions, as in this early time period, government and firm fertility programs were less common. However, two recent longitudinal studies1 based on a sample of de
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