More or Less Parenting
Women's Educational Attainment, Marriage, and Fertility: Evidence from the 1944 G.I. Bill
Conor Lennon
Explorations in Economic History, forthcoming
Abstract:
In contemporary settings, greater earnings among women are typically associated with reduced marriage rates and lower fertility. One way that women's earnings may increase is via changes in educational attainment. To study whether educational attainment affects marriage and fertility choices in a historical setting, I rely on the variation in educational attainment among female WWII veterans created by the 1944 G.I. Bill. Using data from the long-form 1980 census, I first show that WWII veteran status is associated with reduced rates of marriage, increased age at first marriage, and lower fertility, which suggests that G.I. Bill-related education could have had an important effect for veteran women. I then use age at the time of the G.I. Bill announcement as an instrument to establish a causal effect of educational attainment on marriage and fertility outcomes among female veterans. My instrumental variable estimates suggest that each year of G.I. Bill-induced educational attainment is associated with an 8 percentage point decrease in the probability of ever getting married, a 4.7 year increase in age at first marriage, and a 0.67 reduction in the number of children. Using age at the time of the G.I. Bill announcement as an instrument is valid because the benefits could not have been easily anticipated, women had to be 21 to enlist, and the generosity of one's G.I. Bill benefits depended on the number of years of WWII service.
Holding the Belief That Gender Roles Can Change Reduces Women's Work-Family Conflict
Charlotte Townsend, Laura Kray & Alexandra Russell
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Across four studies (N = 1544), we examined the relationship between individuals' gender role mindsets, or beliefs about the malleability versus fixedness of traditional gender roles, and work-family conflict. We found that undergraduate women (but not men) business students holding a fixed, compared to growth, gender role mindset anticipated more work-family conflict. Next, we manipulated gender role mindset and demonstrated a causal link between women's growth mindsets (relative to fixed mindsets and control conditions) and reduced work-family conflict. We showed mechanistically that growth gender role mindsets unburden women from prescriptive gender roles, reducing work-family conflict. Finally, during COVID-19, we demonstrated a similar pattern among working women in high-achieving dual-career couples. We found an indirect effect of women's gender role mindset on job and relationship satisfaction, mediated through work-family conflict. Our preregistered studies suggest that holding the belief that gender roles can change mitigates women's work-family conflict.
A test of the instability hypothesis in low- and middle-income countries
Rebecca Oldroyd et al.
Journal of Family Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The instability hypothesis proposes that family structure transitions lead to negative child outcomes through the pathway of stress. However, in many cases, family structure transitions are not associated with stress or negative child outcomes, suggesting that there are specific circumstances under which transitions are more or less stressful. Using five rounds of data (ages 1-15) from the Young Lives study (N = 8,062) which follows children and their caregivers in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam, we had two aims: (a) to test the instability hypothesis, and (b) to examine the specific circumstances under which family structure transitions lead to stress and worsened child physical health. First, we used multilevel mediation to assess whether financial stress mediated the link between family structure transitions and children's physical health. We then added household size, multigenerational household, and horizontally extended kin household as moderators to the family structure transition-financial stress relationship. We found that financial stress did not mediate the link between family structure transitions and children's physical health in any of the Young Lives countries. We found some moderated mediation effects for household size and multigenerational households in Peru and Vietnam, but effect sizes were small. These findings highlight the need to further unpack the instability hypothesis to understand the specific circumstances under which family structure transitions lead to stress and worsened child outcomes.
How Costs Limit Contraceptive Use among Low-Income Women in the U.S.: A Randomized Control Trial
Martha Bailey et al.
NBER Working Paper, June 2023
Abstract:
The Affordable Care Act eliminated cost-sharing for contraception for Americans with health insurance, but substantial cost sharing remains for uninsured individuals who seek care through Title X -- a national family planning program that provides patient-centered, subsidized contraception and reproductive health services in the U.S. This paper uses a randomized control trial (RCT) to examine how cost-sharing at Title X providers affects the choice of contraceptive method. The study randomizes vouchers that cover any contraceptive method up to the cost of 50% or 100% of a name-brand intra-uterine device (IUD). The results show that Title X clients are highly constrained by the out-of-pocket costs of contraception. The offer of free contraception is associated with a 40% increase in the use of any birth control method (ITT effect), a 94% increase in the value of birth control purchased, a 328-day (226%) increase in the period covered by contraceptives purchased, and a 324% increase in the likelihood of choosing a long-acting, reversible method (an IUD or implant). The results imply that eliminating the costs of contraception for Title X clients nationwide would reduce undesired pregnancies by 5.3%, birth rates by 3.9%, and abortions by 8.3%, and save $1.43 billion in the first year of the program.
Sharing Food Can Backfire: When Healthy Choices for Children Lead Parents to Make Unhealthy Choices for Themselves
Kelley Gullo Wight et al.
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many consumers are caregivers and, as part of caregiving, frequently make food choices for their dependents. This research examines how food choices made for children influence the healthiness of parents' subsequent self-choices. While prior work focuses on choices for the self (others) as based on self-needs (others-needs), the authors theorize regarding when and why self-choices involve consideration of other-needs. Five studies, including a nursery school field study, test the effect of choosing healthy food for a child on the healthiness of parents' self-choices, focusing on the role of anticipating potentially sharing self-choices with one's child. Potential sharing increased parents' likelihood of making an unhealthy subsequent self-choice if they first made a healthy choice for their child. This effect was driven by parents' present-focused parenting concerns about whether one's child would eat and enjoy healthy options chosen for them. This effect was mitigated when parents instead had future-focused parenting concerns. Additionally, this effect was mitigated after making an initial choice for the child that was (a) unhealthy or (b) healthy but relatively liked by the child. This research contributes to understanding how choices for others shape choices for the self and offers important marketing and policy implications.