The aim of this paper is to investigate how occupational prospects affect first-birth decisions of men and women. Contrasting the continental conservative German welfare state with the liberal market economy of the UK, the focus of analyses rests on how welfare state alignment affects fertility...

This article investigates the impact of unemployment on the likelihood of having a first child. Using micro-data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), I apply event history methods to analyze first-birth decisions in France, West Germany, and the UK (1994-2001). The results...

This paper investigates the relationship between personality traits and female labor force participation. While research on the role of cognitive skills for individual labor market success has a long tradition in economics, comparatively little is known about the channels through which...

In this paper we estimate the effects of an unconditional basic income on labor supply and income distribution with a special focus on the incentives to work in the family context. An unconditional basic income guarantees every citizen a minimum income without any means-testing. We simulate a...

German family policy underwent a reform in 2007, when the new instrument of "Elterngeld" replaced the previous "Erziehungsgeld". The transfer programs differ in various dimensions. We study the effects on the labor supply of young mothers, by comparing behavior before and after the reform. We...

We analyze the effects of regional structures on both females? willingness to work and the probability of being employed for those willing to work. Special permission was granted to link regional data to individual respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Results of a bivariate...

Children affect the after-birth labor force participation of women in two ways. Directly, the time spent in child-care reduces the labor market effort. The time spent out of the labor market while on maternity leave alters women's participation experience and, thus, indirectly affects subsequent...

We analyze the effects of regional structures on females? willingness to work as well as on the probability that non-employed women who are willing to work actually will engage in job search. Special permission was granted to link regional data to individual respondents in the German...

This paper investigates trends and changes in the structural composition of women?s weekly market hours worked in former West-Germany using aggregate time-series data from the German micro census from 1957 until 2002. Aggregate weekly hours worked per workingage woman are decomposed into hours...