Birth Spacing and Women's Labor Supply: An Empirical Analysis

This study investigates the relationship between birth spacing and women's labor supply. With the increase in marriage age, women have less time to become pregnant. With longer birth spacing, the number of births becomes fewer. This study uses multiyear cross-sectional data and 3-stage regressions to examine the effects between birth spacing and women's labor supply. The empirical results reveal that longer birth spacing has a nonnegative impact on the labor supply, and labor market participation positively corresponds with birth spacing. We recommend that fertility policies consider the labor supply effects of birth spacing to encourage women to shorten their birth spacing through an incentive design.