When Fertility is Bargained: Second Births in Denmark and Spain

We examine the degree to which women’s fertility decisions depend on greater gender symmetry in child care. We analyse second births and focus particularly on the importance of fatherly care for women with a strong career orientation. Exploiting the European Community Household Panel, we use event-history techniques and compare Denmark and Spain, two countries that represent the European extremes in terms of both fertility and public support for working mothers. Compared to the Spanish case, Danish women are more likely to have a second child, in general because welfare state support makes reconciliation of motherhood and careers easier. We show that Danish career women are additionally able to reduce the opportunity cost of motherhood via enhanced fatherly child care due to bargaining between the spouses.