Child Penalties Beyond First Birth in the Netherlands: The Role of Family Complexity

Stefano Arnolfo , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Nicole Hiekel, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Aart C. Liefbroer, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute

The economic consequences of childbearing significantly contribute to gender inequalities in high-income societies. While research shows that entry into parenthood leads to negative labor market outcomes for women, there is a growing need to examine the impact of subsequent births. This study examines the economic consequences of fertility beyond first birth in the Netherlands, a country with a flexible labor market and high prevalence of part-time work. Using administrative data from the Netherlands, we employ an event study methodology and fixed-effects-with-individual-slopes models to examine men’s and women’s earnings trajectory around second and third births. We compare single- and multiple-partner fertility scenarios and explore how child penalties vary by earnings level before birth. We also examine the role of fertility schedules in explaining heterogeneity by level of family complexity. Our evidence indicates that gendered child penalties in the Netherlands extend beyond first birth. Whereas men’s earnings are substantially unaffected, women face significant earnings penalties around the birth of their second or third child. Childbearing with the same versus multiple partners results in different penalties, which also vary by earnings levels before birth. Differences are mainly driven by different ages at birth between single- and multiple-partner fertility parents. Our study offers a contribution to the conversation about the drivers of gender inequalities inside and outside the labor market in high-income societies. We highlight the need for a more comprehensive analyses of the intersections between family formation, labor market outcomes, and social inequality, whose repercussions extend well beyond entry into parenthood.

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 Presented in Session 77. Flash Session Fertility, Economic Conditions and Inequality