Research

I study how local exposure to World War II mobilization affected men's transitions into marriage, household formation, and early parenthood. Combining the 1940 full-count Census with linked 1940–1950 Census records, I construct a county-level measure of wartime mobilization and follow men from their prewar counties to their postwar family outcomes. Higher county mobilization is associated with greater entry into marriage, spouse presence, and early parenthood among younger cohorts, with the relationship attenuating among older cohorts — new evidence that wartime mobilization reshaped postwar family formation through direct, local channels.

Using monthly pregnancy and birth-timing data from the Generations and Gender Survey across 13 European countries, we implement a matched event-study design to trace labor supply and household dynamics from conception through birth. We find that 35–40% of the total decline in maternal employment observed at childbirth occurs during pregnancy, with fathers also adjusting employment before birth. These shifts coincide with coordinated changes in household task division, financial strain, and beliefs about family roles — evidence that household reoptimization begins well before childbirth itself.