Motherhood postponement and wages in Europe

This article represents a first attempt to investigate the differences in the labour market returns from motherhood postponement in Europe (“postponement premia”) using highly comparable EU data. Our analysis shows a high variability in the “postponement premia” related to wages. In some countries delaying first childbearing by one year may produce an increase in wages as high as 2.5% (Germany or Poland), while in other countries the effect can be negative. We provide some evidence that these premia are related to the policies and institutions in place in the different countries. Namely, the wage gains from postponing motherhood are larger in countries lacking family friendly policies and in more traditional societies, and smaller in countries promoting higher gender equality.

BRATTI Massimiliano;  MERONI Elena Claudia;  PRONZATO Chiara; 

2017-08-28

ifo Institute

JRC107194

2511-7815,