Do childcare arrangements matter for fertility decisions? The effects of men’s involvement in childcare, and of formal and informal options

Pau Baizán, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

In this paper I investigate the hypothesis that women in full-time employment reduce their fertility unless they can have access to childcare. This childcare may be provided by their partner, or may by paid or unpaid childcare. International differences are explained by diversity in such crucial institutions as the gender system and public support for childcare. Event history models are applied to study the transition to second or higher-order births. The data used come from the European Community Household Panel (1993-2000). The results obtained indicate that each type of childcare arrangement (formal, informal, partner) has a positive impact on childberaing. However, the importance of each type of childcare differs among the countries studied. A combination of different types of childcare seems to be particularly important in Southern European countries.