A Study On The Effect Of Childbearing Behavior On Urban Female Labor Supply And Wage Penalties

With the liberalization of the comprehensive two-child policy,female fertility has become a topic of intense concern.With the support of a series of fertility policies,the fertility level of Chinese women has not been as expected.Why do Chinese women who have always advocated "more children and more happiness" not increase their fertility in response to the policy? Many Western studies have shown that a low fertility rate may be related to the costs women bear for childbirth.Not only will childbirth reduce women 's labor supply and hinder their career development,they also expose women to the risk of falling wage income,which is the “birth wage penalty”.Based on the concern about this issue,this article examines the costs faced by women in the labor market for childbirth in the context of China.Through the study of relevant theories and the review of domestic and foreign literature,I determined the research ideas and methods of the article,focused on the urban women,and examined the effects of fertility on female labor supply and the punishment effect of maternity wages.After a preliminary analysis of female fertility and labor supply characteristics,I used the instrumental variable method,the two-stage least squares method,and the Heckman two-step method to conduct an empirical analysis of female labor supply and wage rates,drawing the following conclusions : First,Birth has a significant negative impact on the labor supply of women.For every child a woman has,the labor participation rate of women has dropped by 27.7% on average,and children with a family age of 2 or younger have a greater impact on women,which will reduce the average labor participation rate of women by 47.7%.At the same time,the impact of the number of births on female labor supply has a nonmarginal effect,and the birth of a second child has the greatest negative impact on female labor supply.Second,Fertility has a severe wage penalty effect on urban women,that is,fertility will reduce women's wage income by 11.2% on average.Through the analysis of heterogeneity,this article also found that the wage punishment effect of the heads of enterprises,institutions and professional and technical personnel is even greater.Based on the results of empirical research in this paper and drawing on relevant domestic and foreign experiences,this article puts forward the following suggestions: First,implement existing related policies,ensure the implementation of policies,and strictly protect women in accordance with laws Employment and maternity rights,and continue to improve relevant policies and regulations,and build a sound female employment protection mechanism.Second,develop market child care services,encourage the government,community,and individuals to participate in various aspects,promote the diversity of child care methods,and build care that is more in line with China's national conditions Way.Third,guide women to study traditional male field majors,broaden women's stereotyped career channels,and develop vocational education and technical training to promote the continuous improvement of the quality of women's labor force.Fourth,guide enterprises to develop family-friendly policies and build more harmonious relationship between the employers and employees.