Career vs Children: The Effects of Institutional Background on Females’ Subjective Well-being across Europe

• In Event: 161 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Job Satisfaction and Well-being

Abstract

The paper deals with life satisfaction among women depending on their status on the labour market and number of children they have. The author claims that women living in the countries with more liberal labour laws and open labour markets are happier to have children and combine their work with childbearing than those women who have to re-enter labor market in the countries with very rigid labor legislation. The hypothesis is tested with the help of the European Value Study data for 2008 year, including 24 countries. The results of propensity score matching as well from the multilevel regression analysis proved the tested assumption and showed that females are happier in those countries with family oriented labor legislation and at the same time where it is easy to find a new job, exactly in the countries with more liberal labor legislation.

Author

• Tatiana Karabchuk, National Research University