Work–life harmonisation and fertility in Australia: an event history analysis using HILDA data Hideki Nakazato, Konan University, Kobe, Japan Hideki Nakazato, Konan University, Kobe, Japan Centre For Work + Life Seminar Series March, 1–2 pm

1. Purpose of this study Examine how work-life experiences of partners affect fertility in Australia. Specifically, effects of experience after a first birth on parity progression to a second birth

2. Existing studies 2.1 Qualitative study of the influence of parenthood experiences on fertility Newman (2008) Negative parenthood experiences such as exhaustion, which in some cases resulted from a partner focused on paid work with long working hours, and domestic isolation for parents at home were found to be hurdles for parity progression.

2. Existing studies 2.2 Quantitative studies of parity progression using HILDA data Tesfaghiorghis (2005) Parity progression ratio for women 40+, who completed their fertility. Only 2001 HILDA survey (wave 1) is used. Parr (2007) Multivariate analysis examining the likelihood that a woman with one child did not progress to a second child Only 2001 HILDA survey (wave 1) is used. Parity progression for women aged 40+ only. Explanatory variables highest level of education, occupation of respondents parent at age 14, marital status at time of first birth, and age at first birth. ==> mostly constant over time

3. Data and Methods of this study 3.1 Data HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) Release 6.0 waves 1 to 6 ( ) 3.2 Data management Matching responses between partners Match each woman's responses with her partner's responses, using "partner’s id",(The "merge" command of the STATA software). Matching responses of the same respondent among different waves Follow responses of a person over different waves (panels) using cross-wave id and the “xt” commands of STATA

3.3 Sample under study Women (counted as person-years) Residing with her partner Got her first child after wave 1 and before wave 5 of the surveys 3.4 Method and Models Discrete-time event history (survival) analysis (Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal 2008)

Objective Examine how birth of the second child is affected by work-life situations of mothers and her partner. An event history modeling ==> introduce time-varying explanatory variables such as work hours and parenting experiences. Dependent variable Whether the respondent give birth to a second child before the next wave (1=Yes, 0=No). Who is “at risk” of this event? --> Woman having one child and responding in the following wave.

Illustration of different types of observations in discrete time event history analysis using HILDA Wave1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Wave 4Wave 5 Horizontal Lines:Respondents. Responded where crossed with the vertical line for each wave. B1: Birth of the first child B2: Birth of the second child B1 1 B2 B1 3 2 B2 B1 4 5 B2 Wave 6 B2 × ×

Corresponding example of data format

4. Results and Implications 4.1 Effects of work hours of mothers on a second birth (From cross- tabulation: Table 2) Note: Over 60 hours omitted because of the small number

4. Results and Implications 4.1 Effects of work hours of mothers on a second birth (From event history analysis: Table 4 Model 1)

4.1’ Effects of work hours of mothers on a second birth (From event history analysis: Table 4 Model 2) The more a woman agrees to the statement "Being a parent is harder than I thought it would be", the less likely to have second child in the following year.

4.2 Effects of a partner’s hours in child rearing (including playing) on a second birth The effects are not significant in general, and the relative risks show complicated relationship. (Table 4 Model 2 & Table 5)

4.2 Effects of a partner’s hours in child rearing (including playing) on a second birth For mothers working full-time, partner’s hours in child rearing are positively related with the earlier progression to a second child. (Table 5 Model 3)

Conclusion The results show clear influence of work conditions and parental experience of mothers on fertility in higher parity. Parters’ participation in child rearing seems important for mothers working full-time, but need to be tested further with additional waves of the HILDA survey. This study shows the usefulness of longitudinal analysis to causal factors underpinning work-life outcomes.