Numerous studies have confirmed that higher educated women are more likely to be involved in the labour market. However, the strength of education effects on women’s employment can be shown to vary across contexts. In a recent analysis, Nadia Steiber, Caroline Berghammer, and Barbara Haas analyze how and why education effects on women’s employment vary across countries and how these effects are modified by the presence and age of children.

Despite the recent expansion of education, children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are still less likely to attend university than children from wealthier families. This persisting inequality in educational attainment led social scientists to explore a range of possible factors behind these unequal opportunities. Given that in many countries it is very common for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to live without at least one parent, family structure has often been held responsible for explaining part of the inequality of opportunities between socioeconomic groups.

Divorce rates in Western countries have been increasing in recent decades and more children are also born to parents who never cohabitate.  As a result, more and more children are living in joint or sole physical custody.  Existing research has suggested some of the negative effects of parental separation on child-wellbeing, such as an increased risk of social maladjustment and poor health. However, very little research has explored the influence of parental ill health and well-being on children’s mental health as a result of differing family structures.

Un groupe de chercheurs a identifié 12 régions spécifiques de notre ADN qui sont fortement liées à notre âge à la naissance de notre premier enfant, ainsi qu’au nombre total d’enfants que l’on aura durant notre vie.

Forscher haben 12 Bereiche in der DNA-Sequenz identifiziert, die stabil damit verbunden sind, in welchem Alter wir unser erstes Kind und wie viele Kinder wir im Laufe unseres Lebens haben.

Researchers have identified 12 specific areas of the DNA sequence that are robustly related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life.

It has been proven that preschool attendance improves certain short-term cognitive outcomes of children, such as early literacy, early number concepts, and health. However, very little is known about the long-term effects of preschool.