Does Part-Time and Intermittent Work during Early Motherhood Lead to Regular Work Later? A Comparison of Labor Market Behavior of Mothers with Young Children in Germany, Britain, The Netherlands, and Sweden

Abstract We use data from Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden to examine whether part-time and intermittent work during early motherhood leads to regular full-time work later. We find that in Sweden, by the time the first child is four years old 80 percent of mothers are working full-time if 25 hours is counted as full-time work, but only 30 percent if a 35-hour threshold is used. This finding contrasts sharply with the work patterns in early motherhood in the other three countries and we interpret it as an effect of woman friendly public policies. Furthermore, while employment... Mehr ...