The Relation Between Female Labor Force Participation and Ferti Lity

Numerous investigators have reported evidence of an mverse relation between female labor force participation and fertility rates; but the relation has never been systematically derived from a theory, and recognition that it is neither close nor invariant complicates the matter. This paper states a theory from which the relation can be derived, and the theory extends to a testable generalization about variability in the relation. The theory asserts that the relation is contingent on the "career labor force participation" of females; briefly, the greater such participation is in a universe of populations, the more inverse is the relation between female labor force participation and fertility rates. A test based on data for Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (1960) is consistent with the theory.