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The Role of Education in Fertility and Female Employment in Spain: A Simultaneous Approach

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Journal of Family Issues

Published online on

Abstract

Over the past five decades, female education attainment has significantly increased in Spain. At the same time, preferences have changed considerably with regard to the role of women in the labor market and in the family. This fact has had a major impact on young women’s decisions: A delay in their entry in the labor market, union formation, and fertility decisions, together with a higher level of persistence in participation once in the labor market. The aim of this article is to analyze the variables that influence fertility and employment decisions in Spain. To carry out the analysis, we use the Fertility, Family, and Values Survey 2006. The decisions are estimated simultaneously through a bivariate probit model and are shown to be interdependent. Women from more recent cohorts and the more educated ones spend more time in employment and postpone motherhood more than women from earlier cohorts and less educated women.