SRRD_2020_07.pdf (479.88 kB)
Resources and aspirations during the Great Recession: the impact on the transition to motherhood
preprint
posted on 2020-02-20, 09:23 authored by Chiara ComolliMany studies show that labor
market uncertainties are important predictors of the postponement of
parenthood. While most existing studies investigate the consequences of the
deterioration of employment conditions in absolute terms, in this paper I test
the hypothesis that relative changes in occupational conditions affect
childbearing choices. In particular, I follow the Easterlin Hypothesis of
resources and aspirations to investigate how intergenerational mobility among
American women during the Great Recession affected their chances of becoming
mothers. Using respondents’ labor market trajectories from the PSID 2003-2017
data, I show that when women hold an occupational position as prestigious as
that held by their parents when they were growing up, they are more likely to
enter motherhood than when they hold a downward-mobile job. I further show that
this mechanism is stronger when aggregate labor market conditions deteriorate,
assumedly during the crisis.
Funding
the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) via the Linnaeus Center for Social Policy and Family Dynamics in Europe (SPaDE), grant registration number 349-2007-8701
the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland (Decision Number: 293103) for the research consortium Tackling Inequality in Time of Austerity (TITA)
History
ISSN
2002-617XOriginal title
Resources and aspirations during the Great Recession: the impact on the transition to motherhoodOriginal language
- English