Mothers' long-run career patterns after first birth

Abstract

Using Bayesian Markov chain clustering analysis we investigate career paths of Austrian women after their first birth. This data-driven method allows characterizing long-term career paths of mothers over up to 19 years by transitions between parental leave, non-employment and different forms of employment. We classify women into five cluster groups with very different long-run career trajectories after childbearing. We further model group membership with a multinomial specification within the finite mixture model. This approach gives insights into the determinants of long-run outcomes. In particular, giving birth at an older age appears to be associated with very diverse outcomes: it is related to higher odds of dropping out of the labour force, on the one hand, but also to higher odds of reaching a high wage career track, on the other hand.