World War II, the Baby Boom, and Employment: County-Level Evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Brodeur, Abel; Kattan, Lamis
• 署名单位: University of Ottawa
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/715485
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 437-471
• 关键词: labor-force participation; UNITED-STATES; sex-ratio; fertility; education; marriage; women; electrification; TECHNOLOGY; HEALTH

摘要

This paper examines the impact of male casualties due to World War II on fertility and female employment in the United States. We rely on the number of casualties at the county level and use a difference-in-differences strategy. While most counties in the United States experienced a baby boom following the war, we find that the increase in fertility was lower in high-casualty-rate counties than in low-casualty-rate counties. Analyzing the channels through which male casualties could have decreased fertility, we provide evidence that county male casualties are positively related to 1950s female employment and household income.