Women's wage rates and the timing of children. A simultaneous analysis

This study examines the relation between women's wage rates and how they ti me the birth of their first child. A simultaneous equations model has been constructed and estimated using Dutch survey data from 1992. The results sh ow that delaying the first birth increases women's wage rates, and the high er the wage rate, the higher the mother's age at the first birth. However, the period of time between leaving school or university and having the firs t child is not affected by the wage rate.