Enduring Effects of Women's Early Employment Experiences on Child-spacing: The Canadian Evidence

Abstract

This study examines the effects of early work experiences on child-spacing among Canadian women, with data from the 1984 Family History Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. The analyses, based on life-table and proportional hazards models, show that longer and less interrupted early work experiences are associated with longer birth intervals, and that these effects tend to persist throughout the childbearing years. The study further shows that these effects are greater on the third birth interval than on the second, and that they are more pronounced among highly educated than among less educated women.