Childrearing and fertility.

The authors of this book chapter argue that fertility may increase if there is any relaxation or easing of the tension between work responsibilities and child rearing in industrialized countries. This article identifies a variety of factors that are likely to influence the extent to which mother and worker roles are compatible. The review suggests that improved child care arrangements may mediate between work and fertility but may not always result in increased fertility. Costs of child care average in the US about 10% of gross family income for families with children aged under 5 years and 20% for poor single parent families. The emotional costs of relying on an alternative caretaker may be high. Women in the US may be sensitive to the negative attitudes toward working mothers. Comprehensive maternal leave policies and cash benefits do not directly encourage fertility. Both men and women work for a variety of reasons. The article presents empirical evidence largely from the US although there are examples from Germany and France. There are methodological and data availability gaps in childbearing motivation that account for the limited analysis on US fertility-related effects of changes in the social organization of work and child care. It is assumed that there is a motivation to have children and that it varies with changes in the social organization of work and child care. Three types of work-child rearing contexts are distinguished: simultaneous work and child rearing tasks; incompatible work roles and child rearing; and simultaneous market work and other child care arrangements. The coordination of these roles and the impact on fertility are discussed in terms of job characteristics the sequencing of work and family roles costs access to child care attitudes toward working mothers norms on child care and diffusion.