Birth Timing and Spacing: Implications for Parental Leave Dynamics and Child Penalties

Birth Timing and Spacing: Implications for Parental Leave Dynamics and Child Penalties

Mathias Jensen (Oxford University) 

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ABSTRACT:

We use rich population-level administrative data from Denmark to develop new facts about the relationship between the timing and spacing of births and labor market outcomes. We show that there is substantial heterogeneity in the age at first birth across maternal skill levels. The spacing of pregnancies is also tighter on average for highly skilled mothers, resulting in them experiencing higher levels of fertility and time on parental leave in the years immediately after first birth. We estimate event studies by skill level and find that much of the child penalties in earnings and participation in the 5 years following first birth can be explained by incapacitation effects from parental leave around subsequent births, especially for the highly educated.  

BIO:

Mathias Fjællegaard Jensen is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. Mathias’ research agenda centres on inequalities in the labour market, with the aim of contributing to a nuanced understanding of labour market dynamics, earnings disparities, familial influences, and the socio-economic trajectories of diverse populations. Currently, Mathias studies labour market inequalities from three distinct perspectives: 1) The roles of gender and family dynamics in the labour market, 2) The economic effects of parental death on children, 3) Outcomes of children of immigrants relative to the children of locals.