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Family formation among women in the U.S. military: Evidence from the nLSY
Author(s) -
Hickes Lundquist Jennifer,
Smith Herbert L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-2445.2005.00001.x
Subject(s) - fertility , national longitudinal surveys , propensity score matching , demographic economics , survey data collection , incentive , longitudinal data , demography , matching (statistics) , national survey of family growth , family planning , population , psychology , economics , sociology , research methodology , medicine , pathology , statistics , mathematics , microeconomics
Although female employment is associated with lower levels of completed fertility in the civilian world, we find family formation rates among U.S. military women to be comparatively high. We compare enlisted women with civilian women using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth ( N = 3,547), the only data set to measure simultaneously the nuptiality and fertility of both populations. Using propensity score matching, we show that the fertility effect derives primarily from early marriage in the military, a surprisingly “family‐friendly” institution. This shows that specific organizational and economic incentives in a working environment may offset the more widespread contemporary social and economic factors that otherwise depress marriage and fertility.