Household Formation Rules, Fertility and Female Labour Supply: Evidence from Post-Communist Countries

39 Pages Posted: 18 Jun 2013

See all articles by Louise Grogan

Louise Grogan

University of Guelph - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Global Labor Organization (GLO); University of Central Asia (UCA)

Date Written: November 9, 2012

Abstract

This paper explains how household formation rules affect the fertility and labour supply of women in the Former Soviet Union and neighbouring countries. Women who bear a male first child in countries dominated by traditional, patrilocal households are shown to have substantially lower subsequent fertility from those whose first child is female. Where households are generally nuclear, male first borns do not reduce subsequent fertility. Middle-aged women in more patrilocal contexts often work less if their first child is male, despite reduced fertility and being more likely to reside with a daughter-in-law. In more nuclear contexts, they tend to work more. These findings suggest that household formation rules are strongly related both to women’s demand for sons and to the direction of intergenerational transfers.

Keywords: household formation rules, fertility, daughter-in-law, deferred compensation, Central Asia, Russia, Soviet Union, patrilocality, intergenerational transfers

JEL Classification: J100, O12, O5

Suggested Citation

Grogan, Louise A., Household Formation Rules, Fertility and Female Labour Supply: Evidence from Post-Communist Countries (November 9, 2012). Journal of Comparative Economics, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2280835

Louise A. Grogan (Contact Author)

University of Guelph - Department of Economics ( email )

50 Stone Road East
Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1
Canada

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Collogne
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://glabor.org

University of Central Asia (UCA) ( email )

138 Toktogul Street
Bishkek, 720001
Kyrgyzstan

HOME PAGE: http://www.ucentralasia.org

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