How Does Family Formation Get between School and Work Transitions? The Brazilian Case

Eduardo L.G. Rios-Neto, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and CEDEPLAR
Elzira L. Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and CEDEPLAR

The main purpose of this paper is to study three transitions simultaneously: entry in the labor market, exit from school, and union formation. The economic literature in Brazil and Latin America has focused strictly at the school/work relationship. Another line of work includes family formation (first union and/or first birth) as a major simultaneous or intermediate process. The increase of school attendance at higher ages and growing educational attainment leads to simultaneous school and work activities, but this literature overlooked the role of simultaneous family formation. While school and work are more important for males, school and family formation are for females.. Studies about Latin American portraying a historical increase in school attendance simultaneously to a constant age mean age at marriage is an important stylized fact. This paper will explore these three major transitions through time-cohort, using a unique Brazilian data set called PPV -- Pesquisa de Padrões de Vida.