Abstract

The present study broadens the knowledge base by studying the labor supply side and asks how the transition to motherhood affects reservation wages as a key determinant of labor supply, job search behavior, labor market participation, wage negotiations, and realized wages. The second goal of our study is to investigate to what extent reservation wages of mothers translate into actual wages. While a narrow economic perspective might lead to the prediction that higher reservation wages on average lead to higher actual wages, a more nuanced socioeconomic view suggests that reservation wage changes do not necessarily need to translate into realized wages, especially for mothers.