Part-Time Employment of Married Women in the U.S.A

A bstract . The rapid growth since 1970, and especially in the 1980s, of part-time and temporary employment was attributed to the transition of the economy from manufacturing to service production and to labor demand side factors. Since part-timers are predominantly women and the majority of the female labor force are married women, the association between the female labor force participation rate and the part-time employment of married women across the 48 continental states of America in 1980 are explored. The empirical study supports the positive association between the two variables, but fails to support the role of the service sector in explaining part-time employment of married women across the states of America.     

Child-custody reform, marital investment in children, and the labor supply of married mothers

Research on child custody primarily focuses on the well-being of children following divorce. We extend this literature by examining how the prospect of joint child custody affects within-marriage investment in children through changes in household bargaining power. Variation in the timing of joint-custody reforms across states provides a natural-experiment framework with which to examine within-marriage investment in children. The probability of children's private school attendance declines by 12% in states that adopt joint-custody laws. We also find evidence linking joint-custody reform to higher rates of labor force participation for married mothers, which may indicate less time devoted household production.     

Fertility, Labor Force Participation and the Relative Income Hypothesis:

Abstract . AN empirical test with Canadian data was made of the relative income hypothesis which states that fertility and labor force participation depend upon relative income, where relative income refers to the current family income level relative to the family's desired income level. The interpretation of the desired income level is modified slightly to mean that it is determined not by the past parental income, as originally formulated, but by contemporaneous income levels of other age groups. An empirical model of labor force participation is estimated for the post-war period. The results on the whole tend to provide empirical support for the relative income hypothesis. The post-war baby boom, which led to a decline in the income of young adults relative to that of older age groups, had the effect of increasing participation rates of young adults, especially of young (married) women.     

The effect of household appliances on female labor force participation: Evidence from microdata

We estimate the effect of household appliance ownership on the labor force participation rate of married women using micro-level data from the 1960 and 1970 U.S. Censuses. In order to identify the causal effect of home appliance ownership on married women's labor force participation rates, our empirical strategy exploits both time-series and cross-sectional variation in these two variables. To control for endogeneity, we instrument a married woman's ownership of an appliance by the average ownership rate for that appliance among single women living in the same U.S. state. Single women's labor force participation rates did not increase between 1960 and 1970. We find evidence in support of the hypothesis that the diffusion of household appliances contributed to the increase in married women's labor force participation rates during the 1960's.     

Women of color in the labor market

While the labor force participation rates of women have increased, and women work in a wider range of occupations than they did two decades ago, there remain gaps between the status of women and men, as well as between white women and women of color. Additionally, as the female labor force becomes more diverse, there are also differences among women of color in labor force participation, unemployment, and occupational status. Based on projections regarding the future structure of the labor force, it is likely that even as the status of some women of color improves, many will remain stuck in low-wage service and clerical jobs.     

Efficient employment of cohorts of labor in the U.S. economy: An illustration of a method

This paper presents a model for the analysis of efficient labor force participation in the U.S. economy. Ridge regression estimates of the elasticities of cohorts of labor, classified by sex and occupation, are used in conjunction with wage data to illustrate the derivation of efficient allocation of labor cohorts in five economic sectors. These efficient constructs are compared with actual census data for 1960 and 1970. The results, while tentative, show a trend toward more efficient utilization of labor and greater participation by women in the work force.     

Formal sector job growth and women’s labor sector participation : The case of Mexico

This paper looks at the effects of demand and supply on the determinants of labor sector (school, home work, informal, and formal) participation between Torreon and Tijuana, Mexico for married and single women. Comparisons between the two cities are used to capture differences in labor demand. Torreon is a traditional city with an agri-industrial base and Tijuana is a border city with large export processing (maquiladora) and tourism sectors, both of which demand female labor. Factors influencing labor supply include both individual and household characteristics. Married women, given the strong cultural tradition of working in the home, do not significantly increase their paid labor participation with higher labor demand or changing characteristics of the household. Personal characteristics have the greatest impact on labor sector participation. Single women do, however, increase their formal sector participation with additional employment opportunities and respond to household needs by moving in and out of the paid labor market. Results indicate that increases in labor demand in Mexico from the NAFTA could expand formal sector labor force participation of single women.     

Social security and the labor supply of older married couples

This paper provides estimates of the impact of social security benefits on the labor force behavior of older married couples in the United States, with the ‘spouse benefit’ provision receiving particular attention. The empirical results using data from the Retirement History Survey show that the spouse benefit provision has a moderately small negative impact on labor force participation by older married women and a small positive impact on the labor force participation of older married men. The results are used to evaluate the potential labor supply impact of a proposal to eliminate spouse benefits and replace them with earnings sharing.     

Female Labor Supply: Adoption and the Labor Force Participation Decision

A bstract It is well established that the existence of children in the household reduces female labor force participation. This study seeks to determine if different methods of acquiring children ( adoption versus procreation ) affect participation decisions. Empirical results indicate that, other things being equal, women with one or more adopted children residing in their household are less likely to participate in the labor force than their nonadoptive counterparts.     

Analyzing female labor supply — Evidence from a Dutch tax reform

Among OECD countries, the Netherlands has an average female labor force participation, but by far the highest rate of part-time work. This paper investigates the extent to which married women respond to financial incentives. We exploit exogenous variation caused by a substantial Dutch tax reform in 2001. Our main conclusion is that the positive significant effect of the tax reform on labor force participation dominates the negative insignificant effect on working hours. The latter contradicts the common empirical finding of positive wage elasticities. Our preferred explanation is that women respond more to changes in tax allowances than to changes in marginal tax rates.     

Retirement and social security: the roles of self-fulfilling expectations and educational investments

Countries with higher implicit taxes on continued work are associated with lower labor force participation rates of the elderly. This paper constructs a politico-economic model that accounts for this feature based on multiple, self-fulfilling expectations of agents. In this model, agents are identical at birth and can become skilled (or remain unskilled) through educational investment. When agents hold expectations of larger social security benefits, it provides a disincentive to engage in educational investment, thereby resulting in an unskilled majority. In turn, this unskilled majority supports larger social security benefits, which induces the retirement of the elderly and thus results in a lower labor force participation rate. The opposite applies when agents have expectations of smaller social security benefits in their old age.     

Labor Force and Welfare Program Participation: The Effects of Welfare

A bstract This research examines the quantitative impacts of welfare program characteristics and individual characteristics on both the labor force and welfare participation decisions of low-income females with children . The participation decisions are estimated jointly as a bivariate probit model using data derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey for the years 1979 to 1990, inclusive. These data allow the estimation of the precise behavioral impacts of welfare. The main empirical findings are that effective welfare guarantee levels and the effective welfare tax rate on unearned income both significantly affect the probability of labor force and welfare program participation, but that such impacts are very small in magnitude. Implications for policy are discussed.     

Informal care and labor market participation

Understanding the effect of informal care for an elderly or disabled person on labor market outcomes is important for developing policies targeted towards caregivers. However, because of omitted variables bias, simple cross-sectional relationships may provide a misleading picture of the causal impact of informal care provision on labor force status. To address this, I use panel data for the period 2001–2007, which make it possible to track the same individuals over time, and observe how their outcomes alter as their care arrangements change. While caregiving does appear to have a modest negative impact on labor force participation, this impact is only one-quarter to one-sixth as large in the panel as in the cross-section. Taking account of individual heterogeneity, the impact of caregiving on other labor force outcomes (and on life satisfaction) seems to be small or non-existent. Large estimated effects from cross-sectional regressions are most likely driven by individual heterogeneity. One possible interpretation of this result is that the impact of caregiving on labor market outcomes and life satisfaction takes several years to manifest itself. Another is that the causal effect of caregiving on labor force outcomes and life satisfaction is quite small.     

Disability and the labor force participation of older men in Canada

I use a latent variable model to estimate the effect of disability status on the labor force participation of older men in Canada, with data from the National Population Health Survey. The estimates from this paper indicate that disability status has a large negative effect on the labor force participation of older Canadian males. It is difficult to compare these estimates with previous Canadian estimates because of differences in methodology and data. However, my estimates appear to be larger than those from US data. Some of the implications of these estimates for disability policy are also discussed.     

The dynamic effects of health on the labor force transitions of older workers

This paper addresses the interplay between health and labor market behavior in the later part of the working life. We use the longitudinal Health and Retirement Survey to analyze the dynamic relationship between health and alternative labor force transitions, including labor force exit, job change and application for disability insurance. Specifically, we examine how the timing of health shocks affects labor force behavior. Controlling for lagged values of health, poor contemporaneous health is strongly associated with labor force exit in general and with application for disability insurance in particular. At the same time, our evidence suggests that controlling for contemporaneous health, poor lagged health is associated with continued participation. Thus, it appears that not just poor health, but declines in health help explain retirement behavior. We conclude that modeling health in a dynamic, longitudinal framework offers important new insights into the effects of poor health on the labor force behavior of older workers.     

Simulation estimation of two‐tiered dynamic panel Tobit models with an application to the labor supply of married women

In this paper a computationally practical simulation estimator is proposed for the two‐tiered dynamic panel Tobit model originally developed by Cragg ( 1971 ). The log‐likelihood function simulated through procedures based on a recursive algorithm formulated by the Geweke–Hajivassiliou–Keane simulator is maximized. The simulation estimators are then applied to study the labor supply of married women. The rich dynamic structure of the labor force participation decision as well as hours worked decisions that are conditional on the participation of married women are identified by using the proposed simulation estimators. The average partial effects of the participation and hours worked decisions for married women in response to fertility decisions and increases in the husband's income are also investigated. It is found that the hypothesis that the fertility decision is exogenous and the hypothesis that the husband's income is exogenous to married women's labor supply function are both rejected in the dynamic and static two‐tiered models. Moreover, children aged between 6 and 13 years old may have a negative impact on the hours worked decision for married women that is conditional on their participation. However, these children may provide some positive incentives for married women to participate in the labor force. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CHILD CARE PRICES AND MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT: A META‐ANALYSIS

The literature estimates for labor force participation elasticity with regard to child care prices are extensive and varying. While some estimates imply substantial gains from child care subsidies, others find insignificant effects. To determine the causes of the variance, this paper reviews and analyzes the elasticity sizes using estimates from 36 peer‐reviewed articles and working papers in the literature. We start by reviewing the theoretical and empirical aspects related to participation elasticity with regard to child care costs, paying special attention to sample characteristics, methodological aspects, and macro level factors. We conclude by providing a meta‐regression using control variables based on our review of the literature to explain some of the differences between the estimates. As research builds on and improves the methods and assumptions in prior works, elasticity estimates have become smaller over time. This decline might also be partially explained by changes in labor market characteristics. In countries with high rates of part‐time work and very high or very low rates of female labor force participation, we find elasticity rates to be smaller.     

The effect of the public sector on private jobs: Evidence from the West Bank

This paper estimates the short run effect of creating more public jobs on private employment in the occupied West Bank. Unlike most cited research, the results provide evidence that favors crowd-in effect both at the aggregate employment level and across sectors. A main contribution of the paper is to empirically explore the underlying mechanisms that drive the results. They include positive public employment effect on local demand, lack of public wage premium, as well as no effect on private wages. It turns out that an increase in the local labor force participation is a driving factor for the latter channel. Interestingly, the increase in labor force participation exceeds that of public and private employment, leading to an increase in the number of job seekers.     

Protestantism, Labor Force Participation, and Employment Across Countries

A bstract .   Using data from 80 countries, this article analyzes whether Protestant religion affects labor market outcomes. Controlling for the impact of labor market regulations, business regulations, the tax burden, the business cycle, the level of economic development, demographic and geographical conditions, wars, and the transition from planned to market economy as well as unobserved country and year effects, we find that countries in which the largest portion of the population practices Protestant religion have substantially higher labor force participation and employment rates, particularly among women. We obtain the same result for a subgroup of 19 industrial countries for which we have better data to control for the impact of labor market institutions and business cycle fluctuations.     

State dependence in youth labor market experiences, and the evaluation of policy interventions

We investigate the extent and type of state dependence in labor market outcomes for young low-skilled Australians. Our model allows for three labor force states, employment, unemployment and out of the labor force, and for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. We find evidence of occurrence dependence, but no lagged duration dependence. A past employment spell increases the probability of employment in the future, but the length of the spell does not matter. A past spell of unemployment undoes the positive benefits from a spell in employment. Interpretations of these effects and implications for labor market policies are discussed.