From fatherhood premium to motherhood penalty: trends in the fertility effects on men's and women's wage in China (1989–2015)

Abstract Investigating the impact of fertility on the wage earnings of men and women and its trends is important for understanding and coping with both the widening gender wage gap and the continuously declining fertility rate in China. Through an in-depth analysis of China Health and Nutrition Survey data from 1989 to 2015, the study finds that in the late 1980s, fertility had a significant positive impact on the wage earnings of men in China, while the negative impact on women's wages was not significant. Over time, the fatherhood wage premium has been declining, while the motherhood wage penalty has been rising at a faster rate, and the gender wage gap has been widening. The expansion of the market sector in China since the deepening of reforms in 1992 is an important reason for the rapid increase of motherhood wage penalty.