Motherhood timing and the child penalty

Bibliographic Data

ID23310028
AuthorsAlina Biro (0000-0002-4833-4224, Eötvös Loránd University, corresponding author), Steven Dieterle (0000-0003-4922-0509, University of Edinburgh), Andreas Steinhauer (0000-0001-8304-847X, Rockwool Foundation)
Year2026
Volume39
Issue3
Publication date2026-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Population Economics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0933-1433 • E-ISSN: 1432-1475
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s00148-026-01189-5
OpenAlexW7170077795
LanguageEN
References cited37

Age at first birth has increased over time, which is likely to create many benefits in the labour market. Applying a number of alternative estimation approaches to administrative data from Austria, we estimate small to moderate effects of delaying motherhood on earnings, employment, and attachment to pre-birth firms in the medium run. However, even the largest of these effects are small relative to the average age effects, implying that delay leads to only small changes in child penalties. Much of the career return to later first birth comes from delaying the child penalty rather than changing how careers respond to children.

Child development · Child rearing · Child survival · Estimation · Social policy · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Work-Family Balance Challenges

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