Abstract
This
paper explains how household formation rules affect the fertility and
labour supply of women in the Former Soviet Union and neighbouring
countries. Women who bear a male first child in countries dominated by
traditional, patrilocal households are shown to have substantially lower
subsequent fertility from those whose first child is female. Where
households are generally nuclear, male first borns do not reduce
subsequent fertility. Middle-aged women in more patrilocal contexts
often work less if their first child is male, despite reduced fertility
and being more likely to reside with a daughter-in-law. In more nuclear
contexts, they tend to work more. These findings suggest that household
formation rules are strongly related both to women’s demand for sons and
to the direction of intergenerational transfers.
Highlights
►
Patrilocal household formation rules make the sex of the first born
important. ► Patrilocality is strongly negatively associated with female
labour supply. ► Impacts of patrilocality are strong in post-communist
countries. ► Fertility impacts of patrilocality are not religion- or
culture-specific.
JEL classification
- J100;
- O12;
- O5
Keywords
- Household formation rules;
- Fertility;
- Daughter-in-law;
- Intergeneration transfers;
- Soviet Union
Copyright © 2012 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
