The labor-force participation of married women in the Soviet Union: a household cross-section analysis

Approximately 80% of women in the Soviet Union ages 15-54 years are employed outside the home. To identify the impact of demographic and economic variables on the high rate of labor force participation among Soviet women, data from an income survey of 1016 2-parent families of emigrants to Israel were analyzed. It was hypothesized that differences in participation rates among Soviet women correspond to differences in other sources of family income, wage rates and market conditions, level of education, and family household conditions, with response to changes in economic variables mediated by the role played by persuasion and social pressure in encouraging women to participate. Overall, 89.3% of the women in the sample were labor force participants. Nonparticipants were, as expected, from families with higher levels of other income. The personal qualifications of nonworking wives were considerably lower than those of working wives, with nonworking wives averaging 9.4 years of schooling compared with 13.2 years for working wives. Offered wages for working wives averaged 69 kopecks/hour in contrast to 40-50 kopecks/hour for nonworking women. A maximum-likelihood functional estimation of participation rates whoed significant coefficients for family income (negative), expected wages and education (positive), and residence in a large city (positive). The coefficients for residence in a medium-sized city, existence of a private plot, presence of nonworking men in the household, occupational status of the husband, and total number of children were insignificant. The supply of hours of work was backward-bending. The results suggest that Soviet women reach the decision to participate in the labor force through consideration of the same factors as their counterparts in nonsocialist countries. The analysis further indicates that, at present levels of fertility and exogenous conditions, the participation rate in the Soviet Union will not decrease. However, policies designed to raise the fertility level, including better facilities for children and more support for women who leave the labor force to raise young children, could ease labor force participation among soviet women.     

Soviet fertility,labor-force participation,and marital stability

A simultaneous-equations model of Soviet fertility and labor-force participation is estimated from a cross section of 72 oblast's of the Russian Republic (RSFSR) reported in the 1970 census. The construction of the model is based on the neoclassical theory of household behavior. Simulated changes capture effects of policy changes in the exogenous variables on Soviet fertility and the female labor supply. The exogenous variables investigated are child care facilities (CC), urbanization ratio (URB), male education (MALED), and female education (FEMED). It was found that an increase in FEMED affects labor force participation (LFP) directly and indirectly through impact on birth rate (BR). Increase in CC raise both LFP and BR; increases in FEMED causes womens withdrawal from the labor force and one would expect this to raise BR; however, FEMED raises the opportunity costs of fertility sufficiently to neutralize this effect. Increasing urbanization does not affect participation in a significant way, but it does retard fertility. This effect works through LFP's impact on BR and the indirect effect working through marital stability. A final set of simulations captured the impact of upward shocks of LFP, BR, and the ratio of divorces to marriages (DIV/MAR) on the endogenous variables. Such changes could occur through changes in abortion laws, tightening of divorce laws, or changes in labor legislation. Participation is reduced by the fertility shock, just as fertility is retarded by the LPF and marital stability shocks. Evidence of a backward-bending labor-supply curve was also found. The model is illustrated by tables and charts.     

Education,labor-force participation,and fertility in the USSR

The effect of education on Soviet fertility and female labor participation is analyzed in terms of the neoclassical theory of the household. The hypotheses are tested by multivariate analysis of Soviet census data. The main findings are that the effect of education on urban fertility is opposite that in the West; in the USSR female education has a predominantly positive effect and male education a negative effect. Rural fertility is dominated by strong interaction between male and female education. A substantial portion of the total effect of education on fertility operates indirectly, through female labor participation. The results imply a backward-bending female labor-supply curve.     

Life-cycle labor-force participation of married women: historical evidence and implications

"The seven-fold increase, since 1920, in the labor force participation rate of married women [in the United States] was not accompanied by a substantial increase in average work experience among employed married women. Two data sets giving life-cycle labor-force histories for cohorts of women born from the 1880s to 1910s indicate considerable (unconditional) heterogeneity in labor-force participation. Employed married women had substantial attachment to their jobs; increased participation brought in women with little prior work experience. Average work experience among cross sections of employed married women increased from 9.1 to 10.5 years over the 1930-50 period. Implications for 'wage discrimination' are discussed."     

Female labor-force participation,occupational choice,and fertility in developing countries

A model is presented in which female labor-force participation, family size, occupation, and the demand for mother-substitutes are joindy determined under assumptions relevant to the less developed country (LDC) context. The model is tested using (1) household data from the 1970 Puerto Rican Public Use Sample and (2) an intercountry cross-section sample. Evidence is obtained that female potential wages rising pari passu with each other will be positively associated with both labor force participation and fertility. However, it is shown that this pronatalist effect may not hold for potential wage rate rises limited to specific occupations, because of differences in occupation-child-rearing compatibility.     

Relation between growth and unemployment in a model with labor-force participation and adverse labor institutions

Based on labor search models with an exogenous labor force, existing papers have found a negative relation between long-run economic growth and unemployment. Motivated by the fact that the labor force participation has changed substantially across OECD countries, this paper revisits the long-run relation by taking account of endogenous labor-force participation. We find that, via the effects on employment, changes in labor market institutions may increase or decrease long-run economic growth. Moreover, depending upon the effects on the labor force and employment, these labor market institutions may increase or decrease unemployment rates in the long run. Thus, changes in labor market institutions lead to a non-monotone relation between long-run economic growth and unemployment that is consistent with the data.     

Temporary migrants and gender housework division among left-behind household members

We examine whether Vietnamese migrant workers induce a shift in gender roles in housework division among the household members left behind. Using two waves of the Vietnamese Household Living Standard Survey (2006–2008), we apply the first-difference method and estimate a simple household fixed effects model with instrumental variables for robustness checking. We find that temporary female migrants are associated with a higher probability of undertaking housework by male members left behind and there is a reduction in the gender gap in terms of time spent on chores. However, we find little evidence for a similar reduction in the gender gap when the household size is altered for other reasons.     

Gender roles,labour market participation and household income position

In empirical research on labour supply behaviour, variables like age, education or the household's financial situation as well as economic and demographic characteristics, social attitudes and gender role schemes are believed to influence the annual working hours. This paper starts from the assumption that these determinants work differently according to the poverty level of the household in which the individual lives. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), the paper empirically tests this hypothesis for women and men living in households with a disposable income above the poverty line and of those living in poor households. The results of multiple regression analysis show traditional gender role patterns in labour supply decisions, but only for persons in households with an income above the poverty line.     

Informal parental care and female labour supply in Japan

Using the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement, Japan’s first globally comparable panel survey of the elderly, we estimate the effect on female employment in Japan due to the provision of informal parental care. We observe that informal parental care has little impact on female employment, after controlling for endogeneity of informal care or individual unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity. This finding is consistent with those observed in Europe and the US, underscoring a limited association between care and work in Japan, which is facing ageing at the fastest pace among advanced economies.     

Informal,formal, or both? Assessing the drivers of home care utilization in Austria using a simultaneous decision framework

ABSTRACT

Understanding the relationship between different modes of home care for the elderly and the determinants of mode choice is fundamental for an efficient care policy in ageing societies. However, empirical research on this issue has revealed that policy conclusions will depend on both national and methodological factors. Using data for Austria from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, the purpose of the present paper is twofold: First, at least to our knowledge, it is the first comprehensive assessment of this kind for Austria. Second, it adds to the literature explicitly focusing on the combined use of informal and formal care in addition to the exclusive use of these services based on an econometric framework accounting for the simultaneity and interdependence between these modes. Our results provide strong evidence for a task-specific and complementary relation of formal and informal home care in Austria, with the health status and functional limitations as the main determinants of home care choice.     

Tax credits,labour participation and home production in the Netherlands

We set up a dynamic reduced form model of labour market participation for women who balance career and motherhood. The model accounts for the occurrence of future child birth and early retirement, and includes home production; however, it does not require the estimation of a structural model. Careful implementation of pension institutions can return optimal life patterns of participation without the need of a structural approach. The weaker theoretical framework is compensated by the rich spectrum of possible policy simulations. As illustration, we simulate the effect of two tax credits policy options on the hazard rate out of work.     

Nursing home costs and quality of care outcomes

The relationship between cost and quality of care in nursing homes was examined using quality indicator measures of resident outcomes. While each individual quality measure makes only small contributions to costs, when considered across the facility, quality could have a substantial financial impact on the operations of the home.     

Opting out and topping up reconsidered: Informal care under uncertain altruism

We study the design of public long‐term care (LTC) insurance when the altruism of informal caregivers is uncertain. We consider non‐linear policies where the LTC transfer depends on the level of informal care, which is assumed to be observable, while children's altruism is not. Our policy encompasses two policies traditionally considered in the literature: topping up policies consisting of a transfer independent of informal care, and opting out policies entailing a positive transfer only if children fail to provide care. We show that both total and informal care should increase with the children's level of altruism. This is obtained under full and asymmetric information. Public LTC transfers, on the other hand, may be non‐monotonic. Under asymmetric information, public LTC transfers are lower than their full information level for the parents whose children are the least altruistic, while it is distorted upward for the highest level of altruism. This is explained by the need to provide incentives to highly altruistic children. In contrast to both topping up and opting out policies, the implementing contract is always such that social care increases with informal care.     

正式和非正式的制度

社会资本是一个非常有用的概念，但却是一个非常复杂的概念，不同的观点很多，促成了这种复杂性，组织的视角尤其提供了一个有益的框架，有理由想信，一个社会的社会资本的构成，质量和数量并不必然是最优的，社会资本受到发展过程的影响。并影响发展过程，在社会资本的提高中，存在着重要的公共角色，但谁来担当这种公共角色，以及这种公共角色应当如何担当，这些问题仍然需要大量的思考。