Intended childbearing and labor force participation of young women: insights from nonrecursive models.

Analysis of 3589 women in their mid-20s indicates that the number of children planned is more often determined by labor force participation planned than the reverse. A statistical model is constructed which 1) allows labor force participation plans to cause fertility expectations of young women; 2) simultaneously allows fertility expectations to cause labor force participation plans; 3) allows certain background factors to account for the relationship between fertility expectations and labor force participation plans. One model allows a womans plans for labor force participation to be caused by income and attitude of husband toward labor force participation. The conclusion reached by the model is that the correlation between fertility expectations and labor force participation results from their common antecedent causes rather than a direct causal link.