Maternity leave in the context of couples: the impact of both partners’ characteristics and employment experiences on mothers’ re-entry into the labour market

Publication type

ISER Working Paper Series

Series Number

2014-15

Series

ISER Working Paper Series

Author

Publication date

March 21, 2014

Abstract:

This research focuses on re-entry for mothers after maternity leave. The empirical analysis focuses on the first twenty-two years of post-reunification Germany, using proportional hazards models. Results show that the re-entry into part-time employment is primarily affected by the mother’s own resources and former career, the return to full-time work is more linked to the partner’s resources. This behaviour is especially prevalent in families where the mother has a higher earning potential than the father, a group having the highest re- entry chances for mothers, especially into full-time employment. The results concerning experiences of unemployment for the male partner show that mothers try to compensate uncertainties with increased labour force participation.

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