Evolução do número médio de filhos por mulher nos Estados Unidos da América (EUA) e na Europa (EUR)
Segundo Kohler, Billari e Ortega,
As a result of this high flexibility of the U.S. labor market, American women exit the labor market after the birth of the first child for much shorter periods than do German women or women in other low fertility countries. Government transfers in countries such as Germany often make up for a substantial part of this difference, but the net costs of children remain tend to remain smaller for American women due to their exists from the labor market. Indeed, the greater cost and longer exits from the labor force are associated with lower rates of first birth in West Germany than in the United States. High unemployment and market rigidities also make the re-entry into the labor market after a maternity leave more difficult in Germany (or Europe) as compared to the U.S., and career-oriented women who are aware about these difficulties may chose not to have children—or have fewer children—rather than risking their careers through child-related disruptions in their labor market participation.
