This chapter introduces the concept of parentalization, defined as the ability to become parents and be recognized as such, both legally and via social policies. Applying the concept to same-sex couples, we examine how states may facilitate or hinder the transition to parenthood through laws and policies in five Northern European countries; Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Trends in the number of children zero years of age in married/cohabiting same-sex couples suggest a link between parentalization and realized parenthood. As partly indicated by these trends, parentalization is a gendered concept, and parenthood is more readily available to some couples than to others. Perhaps most importantly, very few same-sex couples have been able to jointly adopt a child. The fact that married female couples face fewer barriers to parentalization than other non-traditional couples partly reflects dominant norms on gender and motherhood.

No previous quasi-experimental paper has systematically examined the relationship between the extensive margin labor supply response to taxation and the employment level. We model the labor force participation margin and estimate participation responses for married women in Sweden using population-wide administrative data and a solid identification strategy. The participation elasticity is more than twice as large in the lowest-skill sample (with relatively low employment) as compared with the highest-skill sample (with high employment). Our analysis suggests that cross-and within country comparisons of participation elasticities always should be made with reference to the relevant employment level.

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