The relationship between fertility and the participation rate of women in the workforce is an increasingly important area of study for economists, demographers and policy-makers. Recent data show important differences in the relationship between employment rates of women and fertility across Europe. For example, in southern Europe, low fertility rates are combined with low rates of female participation. In contrast, Nordic countries are experiencing relatively high fertility rates combined with high female labour market participation. Social Policies, Labour Markets and Motherhood analyses the effects of policies aimed to reconcile motherhood and labour market participation. Making extensive use of European Community Household Panel data, it compares the outcomes of policies in several European countries, analysing why they succeed in some environments but not in others. It will be of interest to researchers, policy-makers and graduate students working on labour markets, population economics, demography and the methodology of applied microeconomics.

This title was first published in 2001. Increasingly, young women throughout Europe educate themselves for a life-long labour market career. So, where does birth fit into a young woman's curriculum vitae? This book takes a welfare state comparative perspective on this issue, analyzing relevant macro policies from four countries whose political views on the combination of work and family differ, namely Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden. The effects of these macro policies on the micro economic labour market and fertility behaviour are also examined using household panel data from each country. For this purpose, all available information from the four countries has been organized into fertility and work histories on a month-to-month basis around the date of giving birth. Within the welfare state comparative framework, hypotheses on women's labour market transitions in connection with childbirth, women's share in joint family earnings around the birth of the first and the second child, the timing of having a first and subsequent child are derived from economic theory on human capital and labour supply.

The relationship between fertility and the participation rate of women in the workforce is an increasingly important area of study for economists, demographers and policy-makers. Recent data show important differences in the relationship between employment rates of women and fertility across Europe. For example, in southern Europe, low fertility rates are combined with low rates of female participation. In contrast, Nordic countries are experiencing relatively high fertility rates combined with high female labour market participation. Social Policies, Labour Markets and Motherhood analyses the effects of policies aimed to reconcile motherhood and labour market participation. Making extensive use of European Community Household Panel data, it compares the outcomes of policies in several European countries, analysing why they succeed in some environments but not in others. It will be of interest to researchers, policy-makers and graduate students working on labour markets, population economics, demography and the methodology of applied microeconomics.