Title
The Impact of Extended Reproductive Time Horizons: Evidence from Israel's Expansion of Access to IVF
Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
12-4-2017
Abstract
Women’s time-limited fertility window, compared to men’s longer period of fecundity, could be a key constraint shaping the gender gap in career choices and hence outcomes. Israel’s 1994 policy change to make in vitro fertilization free provides a natural experiment for how fertility time horizons impact women’s investment choices. We find that following the policy change women marry later, complete more college education, achieve more post-college education, and have better labor market outcomes. Additionally, we find the “penalty” in spousal quality for women who get married after thirty substantially dissipates. This suggests that persistent labor market inequality may be partly rooted in biological asymmetries, and policies that protect against age-related infertility or relieve the career-family tradeoff could have far-reaching impacts.
Keywords
fertility, career choice, education, policy change, labor market
Recommended Citation
Gershoni, Naomi, and Corinne Low. 2017. "The Impact of Extended Reproductive Time Horizons: Evidence from Israel's Expansion of Access to IVF." University of Pennsylvania Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC), 2017-15. https://repository.upenn.edu/psc_publications/15.
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Health Policy Commons, International Economics Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Public Policy Commons, Women's Health Commons
Date Posted: 23 February 2018