|
on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist; Jessica Nisén (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Niina Metsä-Simola; Pekka Martikainen (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Mental health problems are increasing, while childlessness is becoming more common. We examine how mental health disorders (MHD) of varying prevalence, severity, and symptoms (common, severe, and behavioural and addiction-related disorders) are related to childlessness, and whether these associations are explained by partnerships and the partner’s mental health. We use Finnish total population register data on cohorts born between 1977 and 1980 and follow individuals from the age of 18 to 39. We estimate discrete-time event history models for the annual likelihood of having a child for men and women, with MHDs, co-residential partnership, and the partner’s MHDs as the main explanatory variables. We measure MHD by using both diagnose information (ICD-10 codes) from the special health care registers and medication information (ATC-codes). All types of MHDs predicted lower likelihood of having a child, the annual probability being 0.8–1.3%-points lower for women and 1.0–1.8 %-points for men in age-controlled models. The strongest association was observed for severe mental disorders. Co-residential partnerships explained part of the difference between those with and without MHD (for any MHD 13% for women and 36% for men compared to age-controlled model). When both partners have an MHD, the likelihood for childlessness was higher compared to partners where only one of the partners had an MHD. We conclude that partnerships and partner’s mental health are important factors in explaining the relationship between mental health disorders and childlessness, particularly among men. Keywords: mental health, childlessness, partnerships, partner, fertility |
| Keywords: | fertility, mental health |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2025-010 |
| By: | Anna Matysiak (University of Warsaw); Daniele Vignoli (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' di Firenze) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses whether women's employment in the 21st century remains a barrier to family formation, as it was in the 1980s and 1990s, or—similar to men's—it has become a prerequisite for childbearing. We address this question through a systematic quantitative review (meta-analysis) of empirical studies conducted in Europe, North America and Australia. We selected 94 studies published between 1990-2023 (N=572 effect sizes). Our analysis uncovers a fundamental shift in the relationship between women's employment and fertility. What was once a strongly negative association has become statistically insignificant in the 2000s and 2010s—and even turned positive in the Nordic countries and parts of Western Europe (France, Belgium, and the Netherlands). This shift is evident both among childless women and mothers and has occurred across all analyzed country clusters, except in the German/Southern European group, where the relationship has remained negative. These findings challenge longstanding assumptions about work-family trade-offs and suggest a reconfiguration of the economic and social conditions underpinning fertility decisions in contemporary high-income societies. The paper calls for a reconceptualization of the employment-fertility relationship and development of a new theoretical framework that better captures these evolving dynamics in contemporary high-income societies. |
| Keywords: | Women's employment; Fertility; High-income countries; Meta-analysis |
| JEL: | J13 J01 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fir:econom:wp2025_02 |
| By: | Berman, Yonatan (King's College London); Hovland, Tora (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of austerity measures implemented by the UK government after 2010 on life expectancy and mortality. We combine administrative data sources to create a panel dataset spanning from 2002 to 2019. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we estimate the effect of cuts to welfare benefits and changes in health expenditure on life expectancy and mortality rates. Our findings indicate that these austerity measures reduced life expectancy by 2.5 to 5 months by 2019. Women were nearly twice as affected as men. The primary driver of this trend is cuts to welfare benefits, although healthcare spending changes have a larger effect per pound spent. The results suggest that austerity policies caused a three-year setback in life expectancy progress between 2010 and 2019. This is equivalent to about 190, 000 excess deaths, or 3 percent of all deaths. Taking into account the years of life lost, we conclude that the costs of austerity significantly exceeded the benefits derived from reduced public expenditure. |
| Keywords: | public health, public economics, political economy, austerity, welfare programs |
| JEL: | H53 I18 I38 P16 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17853 |
| By: | Millimet, Daniel L. (Southern Methodist University); Whitacre, Travis (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | Geographic disparities in mortality rates in the US are pronounced and growing. The Black-White mortality gap is volatile but persistent, while the Rich-Poor mortality gap is increasing dramatically. While the causes of these inequalities are not understood, recent attention has focused on the role of place-specific factors. Here, we explore the importance of politics as a place-specific factor contributing to spatial inequality in mortality. Specifically, we test for the existence of partisan mortality cycles using panel data on counties from 1968-2016 and information on the political ideology of state and federal political officials. We confirm the existence of partisan mortality cycles, finding lower mortality in counties governed by more liberal political regimes. Several sources of heterogeneity are also uncovered. While additional research is needed, the analysis here suggests that analyses of spatial, racial, and income differences in mortality ought to start with the political system. |
| Keywords: | geographic disparities, ideology, mortality, political cycles |
| JEL: | I10 I18 J10 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17824 |
| By: | Clarke, Damian (University of Chile); Bhalotra, Sonia R. (University of Warwick); Nazarova, Angelina (ISER, University of Essex) |
| 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 behavioural 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 specialisation 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. |
| Keywords: | parental involvement, mental health, gender wage gap, child penalty, gender |
| JEL: | J2 J7 I3 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17817 |
| By: | Gabriella Conti; Rita Ginja; Petra Persson; Barton Willage |
| Abstract: | The motherhood penalty is well-documented, but what happens at the other end of the reproductive spectrum? Menopause—a transition often marked by debilitating physical and psychological symptoms—also entails substantial costs. Using population-wide Norwegian and Swedish data and quasi-experimental methods, we show that a menopause diagnosis leads to lasting drops in earnings and employment, alongside greater reliance on social transfers. The impact is especially severe for women with lower socioeconomic status. Increasing access to menopause-related health care can help offset these losses. Our findings reveal the hidden economic toll of menopause and the potential gains from better support policies. |
| Keywords: | menopause, health care, disability income, fertility |
| JEL: | J01 J13 I10 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11761 |
| By: | Gaddis, S. Michael (NWEA); Quadlin, Natasha; Larsen, Edvard Nergård; Crabtree, Charles (Dartmouth College); Holbein, John B. |
| Abstract: | Intersectionality theory argues that race and gender cannot be fully understood in isolation or through an additive approach. However, field experiments frequently examine aggregate racial or gender discrimination without accounting for within-category differences (e.g., gendered variations in racial discrimination) or intersectionality. Building on theoretical perspectives of intersectionality, we introduce a systematically comparative analytic framework designed to (a) identify missing results of correspondence audits and (b) provide recommendations to help scholars conduct more holistic analyses. We conduct a meta-analysis of 52 correspondence audits, encompassing nearly 330, 000 tests for discrimination, and a re-examination of each study using seven discrimination ratios. The meta-analysis reveals a previously overlooked pattern in rental housing discrimination: compared to White men, Black men experience discrimination, Black women's outcomes are statistically similar, and White women receive preferential treatment. Additionally, our re-examination uncovers ten ways scholars may unintentionally miss key findings when failing to adopt a systematically comparative intersectional approach. We conclude with best-practice recommendations to guide scholars in designing, analyzing, and citing correspondence audits, helping them avoid these problematic scenarios. Importantly, our framework extends beyond field experiments focused on race and gender and can be broadly applied to research on disparities, enabling more comprehensive analyses across numerous dimensions. |
| Date: | 2025–04–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nd2y6_v1 |
| By: | Cowell, Frank; Van de Gaer, Dirk |
| Abstract: | Using a simple model of family decision making we examine the processes by which the wealth distribution changes over the generations, focusing in particular on the division of fortunes through inheritance and the union of fortunes through marriage. We show that the equilibrium wealth distribution exists under standard assumptions and has a Pareto tail that can be characterized in a simple way for a variety of inheritance rules and marriage patterns. The shape of the distribution is principally determined by the size distribution of families. We show how changes in fertility, inheritance rules and inheritance taxation affect long-run inequality. |
| Keywords: | inheritance; inheritance taxation; wealth distribution |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127769 |
| By: | Riedl, Arno (Maastricht University); Schmeets, Hans (Maastricht University); Werner, Peter (Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Using an artefactual field experiment, we elicit revealed preferences for solidarity of different age groups toward the same and other age groups among a large, diverse Dutch population sample. Preferences are measured with a solidarity game and linked to a unique administrative database, allowing exploration of demographic and socio-economic correlates. In the game, a winner of a money amount is asked ex-ante how much they are willing to transfer to a loser who gets nothing. Participants, on average, show a strong preference for ex-ante solidarity, willing to transfer about 40% of the money. However, participants are overly pessimistic about what others will transfer. We also observe age-based discrimination, as many show stronger solidarity with their own age group. Using questionnaires, we measure stated preferences in various domains and find revealed preferences correlate with some self-reported attitudes and with opinions on social security and solidarity-related field behavior. |
| Keywords: | social security systems, group identity, age groups, solidarity, large population sample |
| JEL: | D63 D64 D91 C93 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17858 |