Female Work and Fertility in the United States: Effects of Low-Skilled Immigrant Labor*

This paper examines the effects of low-skilled immigration on the fertility and work decisions of high-skilled women born in the United States. We find that low-skilled immigration to urban areas between 1980 and 2000 lowered the market cost of household services. College-educated native females responded by increasing fertility and reducing labor force participation. However, low-skilled immigration also weakened the negative correlation between work and fertility. Together, these changes resulted in an increase in the joint likelihood of childbearing and labor force participation. Our results imply that the continuing influx of low-skilled immigrants has substantially reduced fertility-work tradeoffs facing educated women