Fertility and labour market outcomes
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Date
2025-09-08
Authors
Κοτσορώνη, Γεωργία
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Abstract
This dissertation investigates the impact of childbirth and conception on women’s labour market outcomes in Greece, focusing on labour force participation and employment. Using monthly panel data from the EU-SILC, provided by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, covering the years 2003–2023, the analysis tracks 32,992 women aged 25-54 over a four-year window surrounding childbirth–two years before and two years after the event. Employing a combination of fixed effects, OLS, and logit models, as well as an event study framework, the study identifies substantial and statistically significant declines in labour force participation and employment not only after childbirth but also during pregnancy, suggesting that labour market withdrawal often begins at the conception stage. The results reveal persistent postnatal effects and wide heterogeneity across demographic and socioeconomic groups.
Women who are younger, less educated, unmarried, low-income, or foreign-born experience steeper declines. Geographical disparities, particularly in Attica and rural areas, also shape the results, reflecting differences in access to childcare services, availability of employment opportunities, and the level of institutional support available to mothers. These findings offer new causal evidence insights from a Southern European context and capture labour market adjustments that begin even before childbirth, using monthly data. While the analysis is subject to some limitations, it offers valuable insights for policymakers aiming to promote gender equality and support working mothers more effectively.
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Keywords
Childbirth, Conception, Female labour supply, Motherhood penalty, Greece