Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we investigated the role of childbearing history in later life health and mortality, paying particular attention to possible differences by sex and region. Higher parity is associated with better self-rated health in Western German mothers and...

How do children affect women in science? We investigate this question using rich biographical data, linked with patents and publications, for 83,000 American scientists in 1956 at the height of the baby boom. Our analyses reveal a unique life-cycle pattern of productivity for mothers. While...

A number of trends are changing the nature of social risks and increase the importance of human capital, adaptability, and flexibility. This article discusses the usefulness of a life-course perspective in developing proactive social policies that better fit the changing life cycles of...