Do Parental Job Losses Lead to Worse Children’s Birth Outcomes when There Is More Unemployment around?

Anna Baranowska-Rataj , Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research, Umeå University
Björn Högberg , CEDAR, Umea University
Jonas Vossemer, Umeå University

Parental job losses may have negative consequences for health of family members, especially the youngest ones. The variation of the effects of parental job losses for birth outcomes across socioeconomic contexts is however an underinvestiaged area of research. On the one hand, less advantaged regions, especially those where job losses tend to be more common, may provide families with inadequate economic resources and instrumental support, reducing families’ resilience to job losses. On the other hand, the experience of a job loss may be less stressful when it is shared with others. This study draws on Swedish longitudinal register data that provide rich health-related information on births of children, as well as information on labor market trajectories of parents across firms and regions. We use information on involuntary job losses to assess their consequences for children’s health. We then investigate how parental unemployment affects children’s’ birth outcomes under diverging regional contexts.

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 Presented in Session 57. Family Dynamics, Work Conditions and Health