Abstract
To better understand the correlation between fertility, female employment, and family policy, this paper employs Finnish register data on women born in 1969 to study the association between women’s labour market careers and fertility. The investigation is based on a theoretical argument which holds that women make different kinds of strategic choices about their careers as influenced by their own preferences, family policies, and household resources. Women are divided into three different groups based on their activity in the labour market from the month they reach age 18 until the month before they turn 35. The level and timing of fertility, the central characteristics of the women belonging to the different groups, and the entry into motherhood are examined with descriptive statistics and event history techniques. Results show that Finnish women’s choices concerning employment and fertility are relatively heterogeneous: At one end of the scale a considerable number of women stay outside the labour market for longer periods of time, enter motherhood at a relatively early age, and have large families, whereas at the other end we find women with long periods of continuous education and employment, high age of entry into motherhood, and small family sizes.
Highlights
The determinants of fertility decline, low fertility, and fertility differences within and between countries are frequently discussed by demographers
It is argued that when family policy enables the combination of work and family, both fertility and female employment are positively influenced, given that women do not need to choose between employment and children but can have both
The purpose of this article is to provide descriptive evidence on the proportion of women opting for different types of career strategies, the level and timing of fertility in each of the career strategy groups, and the typical characteristics of the women belonging to each group
Summary
The determinants of fertility decline, low fertility, and fertility differences within and between countries are frequently discussed by demographers. It is argued that when family policy enables the combination of work and family, both fertility and female employment are positively influenced, given that women do not need to choose between employment and children but can have both. Such arguments have been challenged by Hakim (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003a, 2003b), who claims that women are heterogeneous in their preferences when it comes to family and work, and respond differently to social policy. This section will examine the general trends in family formation, fertility, and female labour force participation in Finland. Pitkänen and Jalovaara (2007) provide an informative summary of the trends in family formation and a detailed overview of female labour force participation can be found in Haataja (2005).
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