Effects of Early Life Family Events on Women's Late Life Labour Market Behaviour: An Analysis of the Relationship between Childbearing and Retirement in Western Germany

Hank, Karsten

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URL:	https://ub-madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/904
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-9040
Document Type:	Working paper
Year of publication:	2004
The title of a journal, publication series:	MEA Discussion Papers
Volume:	047
Place of publication:	Mannheim
Publication language:	English
Institution:	School of Law and Economics > Sonstige - Fakultät für Rechtswissenschaft und Volkswirtschaftslehre
MADOC publication series:	Veröffentlichungen des MEA (Mannheim Research Institute For the Economics of Aging) > MEA Discussion Papers
Subject:	330 Economics
Subject headings (SWD):	Deutschland <Bundesrepublik> , Frau , Arbeitsmarkt , Kinderlosigkeit , Mutter
Abstract:	The relationship between a woman's reproductive history and her entry into retirement is not well- investigated yet. Will mothers exit the workforce earlier than childless women (as they have a weaker labour market orientation; as they are more likely to have a 'male breadwinner' in the household), or will they work longer to make-up for employment interruptions during their reproductive phase? We exploit data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to estimate discrete-time logit models for women's transition to retirement, using detailed information on the individual's fertility biography as main explanatory variables. Our primary finding is that having children delays a woman's exit from the labour force. This effect tends to be stronger for mothers who experienced their first birth relatively late. Postponing fertility and retirement should both be driven by a relatively strong career orientation. Thus, in addition to household economic considerations, the individual's evaluation of her worker role relative to her family role is likely to be important for her retirement timing.
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