The Effect of Fertility on Maternal Labour Market Outcomes. IV Evidence from Romania.

Abstract: This study investigates the effect of fertility on maternal labour market outcomes. For this purpose, we use four waves of Romanian census data from IPUMS International. We exploit the unique history of Romania’s abortion legislation, instrumenting fertility with the 1966 abortion ban and the 1990 abortion legalisation in two separate IV models. The findings suggest that increasing fertility reduces the probability of maternal labour force participation and employment. We also find evidence that maternal labour supply is more sensitive to fertility at the extensive margin and that more highly educated mothers are more responsive to fertility than those mothers with no more than primary education.