Volume 32 - Article 7 | Pages 219–250  

Unemployment and the timing of parenthood: Implications of partnership status and partner’s employment

By Hande Inanc

Abstract

Background: In many countries, including the UK, unemployment is associated with earlier entries into motherhood. However, the implications of male unemployment are not straightforward.

Objective: The paper addresses this issue by investigating transition to first births in relation to unemployment experience as moderated by partnership status. It also examines the effects of both partners‟ employment statuses on transition into parenthood, focusing on the joint labour market status of cohabiting and married couples.

Methods: The impact of unemployment experience on the timing of parenthood is predicted using discrete time event history analysis. Data from the British Household Panel Study provide complete family and work histories. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for.

Results: Unemployment leads to earlier entries into parenthood for both men and women. However, its impact differs according to the relationship status in which it is experienced. Unemployed men who cohabit and unemployed women who are single have a higher probability of becoming parents. Among married individuals the timing of parenthood is determined largely by the labour market status of the female partner. Irrespective of the male‟s employment status, couples with employed female spouses have a substantially lower probability of becoming parents. Yet among women who are not in employment there is a delaying effect of unemployment compared to being economically inactive.

Conclusions: Different mechanisms explain the relationship between unemployment and fertility timing for non-married and married individuals. Neoclassical family models seem to determine parenthood timing among married individuals, whereas early parenthood among non-married individuals can be explained by an uncertainty reduction strategy or discouragement from marriage.

Author's Affiliation

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Between money and intimacy: Brideprice, marriage, and women’s position in contemporary China
Volume 50 - Article 46    | Keywords: brideprice, China, divorce, family, family law, gender inequalities, marriage

Pathways and obstacles to parenthood among women in same-sex couples in Spain
Volume 50 - Article 35    | Keywords: assisted reproduction, family, fertility desires, LGBTQ, parenthood, same-sex couples

Age-heterogamous partnerships: Prevalence and partner differences by marital status and gender composition
Volume 50 - Article 23    | Keywords: age heterogamy, assortative mating, cohabitation, marriage, same-sex couples, unions

Ultra-Orthodox fertility and marriage in the United States: Evidence from the American Community Survey
Volume 49 - Article 29    | Keywords: age at first marriage, American Community Survey (ACS), fertility, Judaism, marriage, religion, total fertility rate (TFR), Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

An alternative version of the second demographic transition? Changing pathways to first marriage in Japan
Volume 49 - Article 16    | Keywords: cohabitation, first marriages, pattern of disadvantage, premarital children, second demographic transition, transition

Cited References: 47

Download to Citation Manager

PubMed

Google Scholar

Volume
Page
Volume
Article ID