In this paper we investigate how fertility decisions respond to unexpected career interruptions which occur as a consequence of job displacement. Using an event study approach we compare the birth rates of displaced women with those of women unaffected by job loss after establishing the...

Introduction: Current Conditions of Work and Family in Japan -- 1 The Factors of Fertility Decline in Japan -- 2 The Japanese Working Custom and Women’s Employment Participation -- 3 Work and Family in Japan from the Comparative Perspective -- 4 Family Formation and Disparity -- 5 The...

Acknowledgments -- The opt-out narrative -- Changes in employment policies and cultural attitudes -- Employed mothers become the norm -- Doctors or dishwashers? : a look at who opts out -- Opting to stay : schedule flexibility and reduced work hours -- Does age matter? -- The motherhood wage gap...