Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/324363 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17965
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We use whole-population linked administrative data from Australia to ex- amine the economic and mental health impacts of IVF treatment and invol- untary childlessness. Leveraging detailed information on fertility treatment, income, and prescription drug use, we implement a dynamic triple-difference framework comparing women who remain childless five years after initiating IVF to those who successfully conceive. Results reveal large and persistent effects on both mental health and income. We further show that the IVF process itself leads to income declines among childless women, underscoring substantial unmeasured costs and suggesting downward bias in child penalty estimates that use unsuccessful IVF patients as controls.
Subjects: 
labor market outcomes
mental health
IVF
involuntary childlessness
fertility and career trade-offs
JEL: 
J13
J22
I14
I31
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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