We field a seven-country survey of respondents aged 20–49 to examine how adults value income and time trade-offs when deciding whether to have a child. Respondents evaluate profiles with hypothetical couples considering either a first or a second birth, forcing trade-offs across domains. We examine whether the size of the motherhood penalty affects childbearing preferences, whether income is more salient for first versus second births, and how these effects vary by women’s age. Results should illuminate which factors most strongly shape childbearing decisions and inform policymakers about designing income transfers and regulating time constraints.

Alicia Adserà is a Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer in Economics at the Princeton School of Public and International and faculty associate at the Office of Population Research (Princeton University). Her research interests are in economic demography, development, and international political economy. Her work focuses on the interplay between labor markets and fertility and on an array of migration topics. Two current projects involve multi-country data collection to analyze fertility preferences and choices, as well as the relative importance of different dimensions of successful aging. Before joining Princeton, she was an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Research Affiliate at the University of Chicago’s Population Research Center. She holds a PhD in Economics from Boston University.