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  5. Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments

Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments

  • Petter Lundborg
  • Erik Plug
  • Astrid Würtz Rasmussen
American Economic Review
vol. 107, no. 6, June 2017
(pp. 1611-37)
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Abstract

This paper introduces a new IV strategy based on IVF (in vitro fertilization) induced fertility variation among childless women to estimate the causal effect of having children on their career. For this purpose, we use administrative data on IVF treated women in Denmark. Because observed chances of IVF success do not depend on labor market histories, IVF treatment success provides a plausible instrument for childbearing. Our IV estimates indicate that fertility effects on earnings are: (i) negative, large, and long-lasting; (ii) driven by fertility effects on hourly earnings and not so much on labor supply; and (iii) much stronger at the extensive margin than at the intensive margin.

Citation

Lundborg, Petter, Erik Plug, and Astrid Würtz Rasmussen. 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments." American Economic Review, 107 (6): 1611-37. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20141467

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • J32 Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions