Women earn less than men, and that is especially true of mothers relative to fathers. Much of the widening occurs after … together these three produce the "parental gender gap," defined as the difference in income between mothers and fathers. We … up and as women work more hours, the motherhood penalty is greatly reduced, especially for the less-educated group. But …

Until the early decades of the 20th century, women spent more than 60% of their prime-age years either pregnant or … nursing. Since then, the introduction of infant formula reduced women's comparative advantage in infant care, by providing an … associated with women's reproductive role. We explore the hypothesis that these developments enabled married women to increase …

The entry of married women into the labor force is one of the most notable economic phenomena of the twentieth century … effects of pregnancy and childbirth on women's ability to work, while the introduction of infant formula reduced mothers … quantitative model that aims to capture their impact. Our results suggests that these advances, by enabling women to reconcile work …

Until the early decades of the 20th century, women spent more than 60% of their prime- age years either pregnant or … nursing. Since then, improved medical knowledge and obstetric practices reduced the time cost associated with women …'s reproductive role. The introduction of infant formula also reduced women's comparative advantage in infant care, by providing an …

Maternal mortality was the second-leading cause of death for women in childbearing years up until the mid-1930s in the … advances. We argue that these medical advances, by enabling women to reconcile work and motherhood, were essential for the … joint rise in married women's labor force participation and fertility over this period. We also show that the diffusion of …