Child Penalty – Lohneinbußen durch Elternschaft
Wer Kinder hat, wird bestraft? Für viele Eltern, allen voran Mütter, gilt das in der Tat. Schließlich sind sie während der ersten Lebensjahre ihres Nachwuchses häufig gezwungen, ihre Erwerbstätigkeit einzuschränken oder aufzugeben – was sich im Laufe des Arbeitslebens in Form erheblicher Gehaltseinbußen auswirkt. Dieses Phänomen – zunächst meist als „motherhood wage gap“, inzwischen als „child penalty“ bezeichnet – hat sich in den letzten Jahren zu einem volkswirtschaftlichen Trendthema entwickelt.
In diesem Themendossier finden Sie thematisch einschlägige Literatur. Mit dem Filter „Autorenschaft“ können Sie auf IAB-(Mit-)Autorenschaft eingrenzen.
Verwandte Dossiers:
Gender Pay Gap – Geschlechtsspezifische Lohnungleichheit in Deutschland
Female breadwinner – Erwerbsentscheidungen von Frauen im Haushaltskontext
Gender und Arbeitsmarkt
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Literaturhinweis
You Can’t Force Me Into Caregiving: Paternity Leave and the Child Penalty (2026)
Zitatform
Andresen, Martin Eckhoff & Emily Nix (2026): You Can’t Force Me Into Caregiving: Paternity Leave and the Child Penalty. In: The Economic Journal, Jg. 136, H. 674, S. 780-797. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaf057
Abstract
"Children cause large reductions in earnings for mothers but not fathers, a stylised fact known as the “child penalty” that explains a substantial portion of remaining gender income gaps. We evaluate the impact of paternity leave, a policy intended to increase fathers ’ time with their young children and potentially decrease the child penalty by making caregiving more equitable. Despite fathers overwhelmingly taking up this leave, we detect no impacts on child penalties. We additionally find no impact of paternity leave on the amount of leave fathers take for subsequent children, a good proxy for gender norms within couples. Using detailed data on how mothers and fathers take leave, we highlight one possible explanation: fathers approach parental leave very differently than mothers. Fathers are much more likely to take their paternity leave during summer holidays, when their children are already in formal care, and take more part-time leave than mothers. This tendency is stronger among fathers induced to take more leave by paternity leave quotas than fathers in general, suggesting that quota-induced leave may not lead fathers to act as primary caregivers. Consequently, we show descriptive evidence that child penalties are almost 10 percentage points smaller in families where fathers voluntarily take leave than in families where fathers are induced to take leave by paternity leave quotas." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on women’s income (2026)
Azadikhah Jahromi, Afrouz; Huang, Weige;Zitatform
Azadikhah Jahromi, Afrouz & Weige Huang (2026): The heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on women’s income. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 24, H. 1, S. 327-358. DOI:10.1007/s11150-024-09729-2
Abstract
"This study estimates the heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on mothers ’ annual income, using data from several waves (1979-2018) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Women usually experience an immediate decrease in their income after childbirth, compared to what they would have earned if they had not become mothers. This gap closes somewhat over time, though mothers never fully catch up to their counterfactuals. Previous work tried to explain this “motherhood penalty” by estimating the average treatment effect of children on women’s income; however, these effects can be quite heterogeneous across mothers with different observable characteristics. Instead, our analysis centers on the distribution of the individual-level effects of the first childbirth on mothers’ income, using the Changes-in-Changes model and quantile regression. Identifying the features of this distribution is a challenging task as it requires knowledge of joint distribution. We find that around 73% of mothers have lower income after their first childbirth than they would have had if they had not had a child. These adverse effects are particularly pronounced among 10–20% of mothers. Our quantile regression analysis indicates that the first childbirth most negatively affects older, single/divorced, white, and more educated mothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Cultural‐Policy Framework and Mothers' Earnings Penalty: A European Comparison (2026)
Zitatform
Badaoui, Eliane & Eleonora Matteazzi (2026): Cultural‐Policy Framework and Mothers' Earnings Penalty: A European Comparison. In: Kyklos, Jg. 79, H. 1, S. 53-69. DOI:10.1111/kykl.70013
Abstract
"This article explores the diversity of cultural and policy contexts in Western European countries and examines their role in explaining the persistent and heterogeneous motherhood penalty. Using harmonized European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data from 13 countries, the analysis spans 2006 to 2022 and provides average and distributional results. The findings reveal a motherhood penalty in 10 countries, with the highest levels observed in Sweden, Norway, Germany, and Austria. For these countries, quantile regressions show a decreasing motherhood penalty along the earnings distribution. The empirical analysis further sheds light on how work–family policies, culture, minimum wages, and wage-setting institutions mediate the role of motherhood on women's earnings. The results indicate that while work–family policies promote female employment, they do not significantly mitigate the motherhood penalty. In contrast, higher minimum wages and more coordinated and centralized wage bargaining are more effective in reducing the motherhood penalty, particularly in the lower segment of the earnings distribution. More traditional gender roles and cultural values emphasizing masculinity, individualism, and power distance are associated with a lower motherhood penalty." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Geschlechtergerecht gestalten: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialpolitik (2026)
Zitatform
Bothfeld, Silke, Christian Hohendanner, Petra Schütt & Aysel Yollu-Tok (Hrsg.) (2026): Geschlechtergerecht gestalten. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialpolitik. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 471 S. DOI:10.12907/978-3-593-45932-5
Abstract
"Trotz zahlreicher Bemühungen und Erfolge in der Gleichstellungspolitik seit Ende der 1990er Jahre bestehen in der Praxis nach wie vor erhebliche geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Frauen haben nach wie vor geringere Erfolgsaussichten beim Zugang und beim Verbleib in Beschäftigung, ihre Bezahlung und ihre Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten sind schlechter. Die Beiträge dieses Bandes bieten einen umfassenden Überblick über die aktuelle geschlechtsbezogene Arbeits(marktpolitik-)forschung. Mit einem multiperspektivischen Blick auf den vergeschlechtlichten Arbeitsmarkt gelingt es dem Band, historische Aspekte, Gegenwartsanalysen sowie gesellschaftliche Transformationsprozesse und Lösungsansätze zu verbinden." (Verlagsangaben, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Navigating Motherhood: Endogenous Penalties and Career Choice (2026)
Zitatform
Coskun, Sena, Husnu Dalgic & Yasemin Özdemir (2026): Navigating Motherhood: Endogenous Penalties and Career Choice. (IAB-Discussion Paper 02/2026), Nürnberg, 57 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.DP.2602
Abstract
"Wir dokumentieren, dass Frauen sich vor der Geburt ihres ersten Kindes strategisch in „familienfreundliche” Sektoren sortieren, die durch geringere Erfahrungswerte, aber niedrigere Einbußen pro Kind gekennzeichnet sind. Dieses antizipatorische Sortieren stellt ex-ante Kosten der Mutterschaft dar, die von herkömmlichen Maßen für die Child Penalty gänzlich übersehen werden. Wir entwickeln ein Modell heterogener Akteure für Berufswahl und Fertilität, um diese „Sorting Penalty” zu quantifizieren. Unser zentrales Ergebnis ist, dass der direkte Einkommensverlust durch berufliches Sortieren zwar gering ist, dieses Resultat jedoch die hohe Wirksamkeit der primären Instrumente offenbart, mit denen Frauen Mutterschaft bewältigen: die Qualität-Quantität (Q-Q) und Zeitverwendung (T-E) Trade-offs. Durch empirische Evidenz für beide Spielräume zeigen wir, dass Frauen keine passiven Subjekte von Child Penalties sind; sie sind aktive, strategische Akteurinnen, die diese feineren Abwägungen nutzen, um familiäre Ziele zu erreichen und gleichzeitig berufliche Kosten zu mildern. Unsere Ergebnisse unterstreichen: Da Fertilität und Benachteiligungen zutiefst endogen sind, werden politische Rahmenbedingungen, die diese Trade-offs ausschließen, die Fertilitätsreaktionen und Karrierekosten von Interventionen grundlegend falsch berechnen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Stratification of post-birth labour supply in a high- and low- maternal employment regime (2026)
Zitatform
Filser, Andreas, Pascal Achard, Corinna Frodermann, Dana Müller & Sander Wagner (2026): Stratification of post-birth labour supply in a high- and low- maternal employment regime. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 102, 2026-01-30. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2026.101133
Abstract
"This paper compares the magnitude and stratification of motherhood employment penalties in France and Germany, two countries with contrasting institutional orientations towards maternal employment. While prior research has documented cross-national variation in the size of motherhood penalties, less is known about how macro-level contexts shape their stratification across socioeconomic groups. Using harmonized administrative employment data on 18,948 French and 72,632 German mothers, who were employed prior to first birth between 1997 and 2014, we estimate labour market participation trajectories for five years following childbirth. Across both countries, women with higher pre-birth income, higher education, and employment in higher-wage firms experience substantially smaller reductions in labour supply, with income emerging as the strongest stratifying dimension. Motherhood penalties are markedly smaller in France, amounting to less than one-third of the reduction observed in Germany. Yet penalties in France are more strongly stratified: mothers in the lowest income quintile experience participation losses 3.14 times larger than mothers in the highest quintile, compared to a ratio of 1.17 in Germany. Within Germany, East German mothers face smaller but more stratified penalties than West German mothers. Finally, we test whether the macro-level pattern of larger penalties associated with weaker stratification also generalizes to 65 NUTS-2 regions. We find no systematic association between the size and stratification of motherhood penalties at the regional level. The findings suggest that institutional contexts supporting high maternal employment reduce overall penalties but pose particular challenges for mothers from lower socio-economic backgrounds who reintegrate less rapidly into the labour market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Child penalties in labour market skills (2026)
Zitatform
Jessen, Jonas, Lavinia Kinne & Michele Battisti (2026): Child penalties in labour market skills. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 184, 2025-12-21. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105245
Abstract
"This paper estimates child penalties in labour-market-relevant cognitive skills, such as numeracy but also literacy and problem-solving competencies. We use international PIAAC data and adapt a pseudo-panel approach to a single cross-section covering 29 countries. Numeracy scores, which are associated with the largest returns to skills and pronounced gender differences, decline by 0.11 standard deviations for fathers and an additional 0.07 for mothers. We find no evidence of a deterioration in the occupational skill match for either mothers or fathers. Our findings suggest that changes in general labour market skills such as numeracy competencies explain at most 10% of child penalties in earnings. We additionally show that cross-sectional estimates of child penalties can be sensitive to controlling for predetermined characteristics that vary across cohorts, in our case education." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Segregation, Ungleichheit und Sorgearbeit - ein Gespräch über Gleichstellung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt (Interview) (2026)
Zitatform
Keitel, Christiane; Silke Bothfeld, Petra Schütt, Aysel Yollu-Tok & Christian Hohendanner (sonst. bet. Pers.) (2026): Segregation, Ungleichheit und Sorgearbeit - ein Gespräch über Gleichstellung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt (Interview). In: IAB-Forum H. 27.01.2026, 2026-01-26. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20260127.01
Abstract
"Wie schaffen wir einen Arbeitsmarkt, der allen Geschlechtern gleiche Chancen bietet? In ihrem neuen Sammelband „Geschlechtergerecht gestalten“ bündeln Silke Bothfeld, Aysel Yollu-Tok, Christian Hohendanner und Petra Schütt aktuelle Forschung und gleichstellungspolitische Debatten. Über ihre Ergebnisse berichten sie in einem Gespräch mit der Redaktion des IAB-Forum." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Gender-Specific Application Behaviour, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap (2026)
Zitatform
Lochner, Benjamin & Christian Merkl (2026): Gender-Specific Application Behaviour, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap. In: The Economic Journal, Jg. 136, H. 673, S. 97-124., 2025-05-08. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaf037
Abstract
"This paper examines how gender-specific application behavior, firms’ hiring practices, and flexibility demands relate to the gender earnings gap, using linked data from the German Job Vacancy Survey and administrative records. Women are less likely than men to apply to high-wage firms with high flexibility requirements, although their hiring chances are similar when they do. We show that compensating differentials for firms’ flexibility demands help explain the residual gender earnings gap. Among women, mothers experience the largest earnings penalties relative to men in jobs with high flexibility requirements." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Ähnliche Treffer
- frühere (möglicherweise abweichende) Version erschienen u.d.T. "Gender-Specific Application Behavior, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap" als: LASER discussion papers, 139
- frühere (möglicherweise abweichende) Version erschienen u.d.T. "Gender-Specific Application Behavior, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap" als: IAB-Discussion Paper, 22/2022
- frühere (möglicherweise abweichende) Version erschienen als: CESifo working paper, 11813
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Literaturhinweis
Cross-cohort employment differences among U.S. mothers of young children: The role of nonparental childcare (2026)
Shattuck, Rachel M.;Zitatform
Shattuck, Rachel M. (2026): Cross-cohort employment differences among U.S. mothers of young children: The role of nonparental childcare. In: Social science research, Jg. 133. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103261
Abstract
"Following increased mothers' employment since the later 20th century, the majority of U.S. mothers now experience employment with children under age three. Most use nonparental childcare (NPC) while employed. NPC can include care provided in childcare centers and preschools, as well as by nannies, babysitters and relatives, and in family childcare homes. Changes since the 1980s to care costs and availability, labor market conditions, family structures, and public assistance policies may result in differences in the predictive relationship between NPC use and employment among late-20th vs. early-21st century mothers. I use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) (“Baby-Boomers”) and 1997 (“Millennials”) data to compare monthly likelihood of full-time employment, part-time employment, and employment exit—and how NPC use differently affects these—among mothers of children under three. A hybrid model including within-person and between-person components compares women to themselves at different points in time when they are employed either with or without NPC. NPC use increases full-time employment, and employment stability, for mothers in both cohorts. However, Millennials use NPC more than Baby-Boomers. Furthermore, NPC increases the likelihood of maintaining full-time employment, and transitioning from part-time to full-time employment, by larger magnitudes for Millennials than for Baby-Boomers. Supplementary descriptive analyses show changed care types, increased care costs, and increased nonstandard employment, all of which may contribute to this cross-cohort difference. Results demonstrate how NPC plays a key role in supporting employment within individual women's life courses, and how these effects may differ across different social and historical settings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Life Course Social Mobility and Parenthood. Counterfactual Estimates of the Motherhood Class Penalty in Britain (2026)
Zitatform
Vagni, Giacomo (2026): Life Course Social Mobility and Parenthood. Counterfactual Estimates of the Motherhood Class Penalty in Britain. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 77, H. 1, S. 114-129. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.70039
Abstract
"This paper investigates the causal effect of motherhood on women's occupational class trajectories—the Motherhood Class Penalty—using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study.We apply sequence optimal matching alongside other matching techniques to construct counterfactual class trajectories for mothers in the UK. Our results show that motherhood significantly increases downward mobility and limits access to professional occupations. Low professional women face an estimated 15% penalty, while high professional women experience a 5% penalty compared to their childless counterparts. We find that professional-class women are more likely to remain attached to the labour market after childbirth, whereas working-class mothers are at greater risk of permanently exiting the workforce. Among all groups, low professional women experience the most significant forgone upward mobility, highlighting how motherhood penalties vary across the class spectrum. These findings stress the substantial human capital loss associated with motherhood in the UK and suggest that occupational penalties are shaped by existing socio-economic hierarchies, potentially reinforcing broader patterns of inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Contribution of Employee-Led and Employer-Led Work Flexibility to the Motherhood Wage Gap (2025)
Zitatform
Adams, Abi, Mathias Fjællegaard Jensen & Barbara Petrongolo (2025): The Contribution of Employee-Led and Employer-Led Work Flexibility to the Motherhood Wage Gap. In: AEA papers and proceedings, Jg. 115, S. 243-247. DOI:10.1257/pandp.20251015
Abstract
"We analyze the contribution of job flexibility to the gender wage gap amongst Danish parents with a professional degree. We use a supervised machine learning approach to measure job flexibility from job vacancy text. We distinguish between employee-led and employer-led flexibility. We estimate pooled Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions to analyze the contribution of occupation-level exposure to flexibility to gender wage gaps. We find that employee-and employer-led flexibility contribute in opposite directions to the unexplained component of the motherhood penalty in earnings and wages for those with a professional bachelor's degree." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Parental Leave Intentions, Gender, and Job Discrimination: Insights From a Swedish Field Experiment (2025)
Zitatform
Ahmed, Ali, Mimmi Gustafsson, Johanna Rydén & Lydia Wallin Claesson (2025): Parental Leave Intentions, Gender, and Job Discrimination: Insights From a Swedish Field Experiment. In: Labour, Jg. 39, H. 3, S. 233-245. DOI:10.1111/labr.12292
Abstract
"This paper reports on a field experiment investigating hiring discrimination in the Swedish labor market against job candidates signaling intentions to take part-time parental leave. Swedish law prohibits labor market discrimination related to parental leave. We conducted a correspondence test, sending job applications to 960 employers in one male-dominated and one female-dominated low-skilled occupation. Applicants who indicated plans for parental leave were significantly less likely to receive job interview invitations, with their chances cut by half compared to those who did not mention such plans. This bias emerged across genders and occupations, revealing a systemic issue in the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Homeoffice: Zukunftsvision auf dem Weg zu mehr Gleichberechtigung? (2025)
Zitatform
Alipour, Jean-Victor, Marlene Müller & Nadine Verkühlen (2025): Homeoffice: Zukunftsvision auf dem Weg zu mehr Gleichberechtigung? In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Jg. 105, H. 1, S. 59-63. DOI:10.2478/wd-2025-0017
Abstract
"Der Hauptgrund für die chronisch niedrige Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen im Vergleich zu Männern ist die „Child Penalty“. Das Phänomen beschreibt die beruflichen Nachteile, die Frauen nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes erfahren, während Männer keine Einbußen verzeichnen. Wie beeinflusst Homeoffice diese Gender-Ungleichgewichte? Verringert die Arbeit von zu Hause die Unausgewogenheit in Bezug auf Haus- und Sorgearbeit, Erwerbsbeteiligung und Entlohnung? Während die Literatur starke Hinweise liefert, dass Homeoffice die Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen fördert und teilweise Lohnungleichheiten verringern kann, ist die Auswirkung in Bezug auf Haus- und Sorgearbeit bislang weitgehend unklar." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes (2025)
Zitatform
Aprea, Massimo, Giovanni Gallo & Michele Raitano (2025): The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12668. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12668
Abstract
"This paper argues that public policies, including minimum income schemes (MIS), should devote specific attention to large families, in terms of both benefits' generosity and targeting, to avoid unfair penalizations. Adopting a child-centered approach to the definition of family size, and using a unique administrative-survey linked database, this study provides two main contributions for the Italian case. First, it documents the consumption-based absolute poverty outcomes according to sibling size, highlighting that large families are overexposed to this specific type of economic deprivation. Second, it investigates to what extent the household size and the number of children tend to be a penalizing factor for social benefit receipt. A key finding is that large families in absolute poverty are penalized in terms of both entitlement and generosity of MIS with the peculiar equivalence scale adopted by the scheme playing a crucial role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Reducing the child penalty by incentivizing maternal part-time work? (2025)
Zitatform
Baertsch, Laurenz & Malte Sandner (2025): Reducing the child penalty by incentivizing maternal part-time work? In: Labour Economics, Jg. 95, 2025-07-08. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102759
Abstract
"Governments worldwide are discussing ways to increase maternal labor market participation and to reduce the child penalty. This study analyzes the long run effects of a paid parental leave reform in Germany, a country characterized by high rates of maternal part-time employment after childbirth. The reform introduced additional financial incentives for mothers to engage in part-time work during the first two years following childbirth. Using German social security records, we exploit the fact that only mothers whose child is born in or after July 2015 are eligible for the new part-time parental leave option in a Difference-in-Differences strategy. We find that the policy increased the probability that high-income mothers return to work during the first year after child birth by 2.1–2.8 percentage points ( 15%–20%). However, the policy does not affect maternal employment along the extensive or intensive margin (part-time or full-time work) in the long run (i.e. up to 4.5 years after child). This indicates that while the reform successfully encourages early part-time return to work among high-income mothers, it does not significantly reduce the child penalty. However, it does also not trap mothers in part-time employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Elsevier) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Reducing the child penalty by incentivizing maternal part-time work? (2025)
Zitatform
Baertsch, Laurenz & Malte Sandner (2025): Reducing the child penalty by incentivizing maternal part-time work? In: Labour Economics, Jg. 95. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102759
Abstract
"Governments worldwide are discussing ways to increase maternal labor market participation and to reduce the child penalty. This study analyzes the long run effects of a paid parental leave reform in Germany, a country characterized by high rates of maternal part-time employment after childbirth. The reform introduced additional financial incentives for mothers to engage in part-time work during the first two years following childbirth. Using German social security records, we exploit the fact that only mothers whose child is born in or after July 2015 are eligible for the new part-time parental leave option in a Difference-in-Differences strategy. We find that the policy increased the probability that high-income mothers return to work during the first year after child birth by 2.1–2.8 percentage points (≈ 15%–20%).However, the policy does not affect maternal employment along the extensive or intensive margin (part-time or full-time work) in the long run (i.e. up to 4.5 years after child). This indicates that while the reform successfully encourages early part-time return to work among high-income mothers, it does not significantly reduce the child penalty. However, it does also not trap mothers in part-time employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Daughter Penalty (2025)
Bhalotra, Sonia; Nazarova, Angelina; Clarke, Damian;Zitatform
Bhalotra, Sonia, Damian Clarke & Angelina Nazarova (2025): The Daughter Penalty. (Warwick economic research papers 1564), Coventry, 80 S.
Abstract
"Looking at the earnings profiles of men and women after their first child is born, a number of studies establish that women suffer a larger penalty in earnings than men—a child penalty. Leveraging randomness in the sex of the first birth, we show that the child penalty in the UK is larger when the first born child is a girl. We label this the daughter penalty. Exploiting rich longitudinal survey data, we examine behavioral responses to the birth of a daughter vs. a son to illuminate the underpinnings of the daughter penalty. We find that the birth of a daughter triggers more household specialization than the birth of a son, with mothers taking on a larger share of household chores and childcare. Mothers suffer a daughter penalty in mental health, while fathers report more satisfaction with their relationship. Our findings imply that girls and boys in the UK are, on average, growing up in different home environments, with girls growing up in households that, by multiple markers, are more gender-regressive. This is potentially a mechanism for the inter-generational transmission of gendered norms" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
When Mothers Out-Earn Fathers: Effects on Fathers' Decisions to Take Paternity and Parental Leave (2025)
Zitatform
Biasi, Paola, Maria De Paola & Francesca Gioia (2025): When Mothers Out-Earn Fathers: Effects on Fathers' Decisions to Take Paternity and Parental Leave. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17601), Bonn, 36 S.
Abstract
"This study investigates the influence of the male breadwinner norm on fathers' decisions regarding childcare responsibilities. We study the complex interplay between economic factors and gender norms in shaping the division of household labor within families by analyzing the impact a breadwinning mother has on fathers' choices regarding paternity leave (fully subsidized) and parental leave (partially or not subsidized). We exploit administrative data, provided by the Italian National Security Institute (INPS), including demographic and working characteristics of both parents together with information on the use of paternity and parental leave by fathers in the 2013-2023 period. We find that, in line with the "doing gender" hypothesis, when the leave is fully subsidized, as for paternity leave, fathers are less likely to engage in childcare when their wives earn more than they do. In contrast, this dynamic does not apply in cases of parental leave, where the economic costs of aligning with the gender norm are substantial. The effects we find are robust when replacing the actual probability of there being an out-earning mother with the potential probability and are amplified by the salience of the gender identity norm." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Beliefs and Realities of Work and Care After Childbirth (2025)
Zitatform
Caplin, Andrew, Søren Leth-Petersen & Christopher Tonetti (2025): Beliefs and Realities of Work and Care After Childbirth. (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 20423), London, 32 S.
Abstract
"Models of female labor supply routinely assume that women have accurate expectations about post-birth employment, but little is known about whether this assumption holds. We use a 2019 state-contingent survey of 11,000 Danish women linked to administrative data to compare pre-birth beliefs to realized outcomes. Mothers accurately anticipate long-run return to work but systematically overestimate how soon it will occur. Miscalibration stems from two belief errors—about partner leave and own labor supply—which interact and persist even among second-time mothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Ähnliche Treffer
auch erschienen als: NBER working paper 34289