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(Correspondent: Zhong Yiming) Recently, the paper “Relaxation of Fertility Policy and Firm's Short-term Hiring of Female Employees: Evidence from China” co-authored by Professor Huang Qian and Ph. D. candidate Fan Ziang of our school has been published in World Development, an important SSCI journal in economics.

This paper examines the effects of fertility policy relaxation (FPR) on hiring decisions in Chinese firms. We develop a theoretical model integrating fertility intentions and firms’ employment forms. Subsequently, they investigate the impact of the FPR on the employment term structure of firms using a Difference-in-Differences method. The paper finds that the FPR results in a short-term employment trend for female employees eligible for a second child. This effect is particularly pronounced among low-skilled women, those without sons, and those employed in large, labor-intensive firms. In terms of the potential mechanisms, the FPR increases both the quasi-fixed cost and total cost associated with hiring these employees, reduces their labor productivity, and makes firms less inclined to offer fixed wages. The study highlights a policy conflict between encouraging fertility and improving women’s employment stability. Giving the declining labor force trends, it is crucial to incentivize firms to rehire and retrain women who have taken time off for childbirth, which requires further policy design.

World Development is a top-tier international journal in the fields of development studies and development economics. It covers a multidisciplinary range of subjects, including development studies, economics, sociology, and political science, and is committed to exploring potential solutions to development issues.