An instrumental variable estimate of the effect of fertility on the labour force participation of married women

Abstract

This study estimates the effect of fertility on the labour force participation of married women in Korea. Since Korean households prefer sons to daughters, there is exogenous variation in the number of children among households, depending on their first child's sex. Using this exogenous variation as an instrumental variable for fertility, it is found that having children reduces the labour force participation of married Korean women by 27.5%.