Abstract
This paper estimates the effect of having children on labor force participation of mothers in urban Iranian areas. I exploit sex composition of children as an exogenous source of variation in family size to account for endogeneity of fertility. Using information from the Iranian Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) over three samples, namely, households with one and more, two and more, and three and more children, I find no significant effect of fertility on female labor force participation in Iran. JEL codes: J13, J22
Highlights
In economic literature, children are often considered a barrier to female labor force participation (FLFP)
Using household-level information, this paper investigates the effect of children on FLFP of mothers in urban Iran
The objective of this paper is to investigate whether and to what extent fertility impacts FLFP in urban Iran
Summary
Children are often considered a barrier to female labor force participation (FLFP). Among families with two or more children, the difference by the firstborn’s sex suggests that those with a firstborn daughter are 2.4 percentage points more likely to have a third child (Table 3) This finding is consistent with the fact that Iranian parents have a marked son preference, especially for the first birth. Based on these results, I use an indicator of two daughters as an instrumental variable to estimate the effect of a third child on FLFP in the 2+ sample. Based on this table, I use the indicator of having at least two sons as an instrument to investigate the effect of a fourth child on FLFP in the 3+ sample.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
