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Maternal labor supply: Perceived returns, constraints, and social norms

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  • Rauh, Christopher
  • Boneva, Teodora
  • Kaufmann, Katja

Abstract

We design a new survey to elicit quantifiable, interpersonally comparable beliefs about pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits and costs to maternal labor supply decisions, to study how beliefs vary across and within different groups in the population and to analyze how those beliefs relate to choices. In terms of pecuniary returns, mothers’ (and fathers’) later-life earnings are perceived to increase the more hours the mother works while her child is young. Similarly, respondents perceive higher non-pecuniary returns to children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills the more hours a mother works and the more time her child spends in childcare. Family outcomes on the other hand, such as the quality of the mother-child relationship and child satisfaction, are perceived to be the highest when the mother works part-time, which is also the option most respondents believe their friends and family would like them to choose. There is a large heterogeneity in the perceived availability of full-time childcare and relaxing constraints could substantially increase maternal labor supply. Importantly, it is perceptions about the non-pecuniary returns to maternal labor supply as well as beliefs about the opinions of friends and family that are found to be strong predictors of maternal labor supply decisions, while beliefs about labor market returns are not.

Suggested Citation

  • Rauh, Christopher & Boneva, Teodora & Kaufmann, Katja, 2021. "Maternal labor supply: Perceived returns, constraints, and social norms," CEPR Discussion Papers 16095, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16095
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    Cited by:

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    2. Annekatrin Schrenker, 2023. "Causal Misperceptions of the Part-Time Pay Gap," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2031, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Backhaus, Teresa & Schäper, Clara & Schrenker, Annekatrin, 2023. "Causal misperceptions of the part-time pay gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Annekatrin Schrenker, 2022. "Do Women Expect Wage Cuts for Part-time Work?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2024, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Annekatrin Schrenker, 2023. "Causal Misperceptions of the Part-Time Pay Gap," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 372, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    6. Baertsch, Laurenz & Sandner, Malte, 2024. "Reducing the Child Penalty by Incentivizing Maternal Part-Time Work?," IZA Discussion Papers 17109, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Schrenker, Annekatrin, 2023. "Do women expect wage cuts for part-time work?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor supply; Childcare; beliefs; Child penalties;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

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