I wonder if there is also a psychological factor at work. Something along the lines of: a major world crisis, especially one that causes a lot of deaths, makes you think about the ephemeral nature of life and what’s really important, and you either decide to have kids or to stop putting it off. Imagine someone reading about deaths among the elderly and thinking, “I really want Mom and Dad to meet their grandkids—better get on it.”
Curious if Claudia Goldin’s work is relevant here?
Yes, the psychological factor is often cited for discrete events that bring people closer together or highlight a stark idea of what is important in their life. But did COVID initially present a more troubling future? That might work against this idea, because you are pessimistic about the future of a world subject to a global pandemic. However, your point might hold differently for the women highlighted here, since they are in a much more secure place than their peers subject to exposure and uncertainty about their employment.
I’ve also seen discussion about how the opportunity cost of time—what else women could be doing during this period—fast-forwarded plans. Nothing much to do with my free time- might as well have a baby! That could speak to Claudia’s work because her thesis about women’s late fertility has to do with the cost of establishing a career. The time cost of this delays having a family. In the COVID period, many time costs were slashed- i.e. commuting, meetings, besides most social obligations. Might have seemed more feasible to start families with a 2000/2001 view of the balance of time available for both pursuits.
I wonder if there is also a psychological factor at work. Something along the lines of: a major world crisis, especially one that causes a lot of deaths, makes you think about the ephemeral nature of life and what’s really important, and you either decide to have kids or to stop putting it off. Imagine someone reading about deaths among the elderly and thinking, “I really want Mom and Dad to meet their grandkids—better get on it.”
Curious if Claudia Goldin’s work is relevant here?
Yes, the psychological factor is often cited for discrete events that bring people closer together or highlight a stark idea of what is important in their life. But did COVID initially present a more troubling future? That might work against this idea, because you are pessimistic about the future of a world subject to a global pandemic. However, your point might hold differently for the women highlighted here, since they are in a much more secure place than their peers subject to exposure and uncertainty about their employment.
I’ve also seen discussion about how the opportunity cost of time—what else women could be doing during this period—fast-forwarded plans. Nothing much to do with my free time- might as well have a baby! That could speak to Claudia’s work because her thesis about women’s late fertility has to do with the cost of establishing a career. The time cost of this delays having a family. In the COVID period, many time costs were slashed- i.e. commuting, meetings, besides most social obligations. Might have seemed more feasible to start families with a 2000/2001 view of the balance of time available for both pursuits.