Sex of Child, the Fatherhood Bonus, and Fathers' Work Hours

Objective

This research note examines whether the fatherhood bonus—the earnings increase that men, on average, experience after the birth of a child—varies by sex of child, a largely overlooked dimension of heterogeneity. We also consider men's paid work hours, as an indicator of time available for active parenting and of men's devotion to breadwinning.

Background

Competing social understandings of fathers as providers and fathers as caregivers create ambiguity in defining “good fathering.” In practice, fathers spend more time with sons compared to daughters, suggesting that fathers of sons disproportionately understand “good fathers” as involved parents, whereas fathers of daughters understand “good fathers” as financial providers. If so, fathers of daughters would experience a larger fatherhood bonus and longer work hours, as compared to fathers of sons.

Method

Using fixed-effects analysis and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort, the authors examine variation by sex of child in the impact of fatherhood on men's earnings and hours worked.

Results

Fathers of daughters experience a larger fatherhood bonus than fathers of sons. For married men, who experience the largest fatherhood bonus, the birth of a daughter is associated with increased paid work hours, but the birth of a son is associated with unchanged or reduced work hours.

Conclusions

These results are suggestive of sex-of-child differences in men's understanding of good fathering.