You’re not alone: the household intertwined decisions around employment and fertility. Italy and the United Kingdom in contrast

Tiziana Nazio, Oxford University

This paper focuses on the simultaneous study of parallel careers within the labour market at the household level. It aims at investigating the “family strategy” chosen with respect to the combination of resources within a couple and its relation to the partners’ joint fertility choice(s). Using national panel data, we will investigate the mutual relationship between changing employment careers and childbirth contrasting Italy and the United Kingdom, countries with different welfare regimes, long standing cultural family arrangements and traditions. Research questions are: a) Are employment participation and the decision to give birth interrelated processes? And if so, are these inter-links the same for men and women and across countries? b) Is it there a link between men and women’s decision to participate to employment and their joint fertility choices?