Job Opportunities, the Offered Wage, and the Labor Supply of Married Women (original) (raw)
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Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women: 1980–2000
Journal of Labor Economics, 2007
Using March Current Population Survey (CPS) data, we investigate married women's labor supply behavior from 1980 to 2000. We find that their labor supply function for annual hours shifted sharply to the right in the 1980s, with little shift in the 1990s. In an accounting sense, this is the major reason for the more rapid growth of female labor supply observed in the 1980s, with an additional factor being that husbands' real wages fell slightly in the 1980s but rose in the 1990s. Moreover, a major new development was that, during both decades, there was a dramatic reduction in women's own wage elasticity. And, continuing past trends, women's labor supply also became less responsive to their husbands' wages. Between 1980 and 2000, women's own wage elasticity fell by 50 to 56 percent, while their cross wage elasticity fell by 38 to 47 percent in absolute value. These patterns hold up under virtually all alternative specifications correcting for: selection into marriage; income taxes and the earned income tax credit; measurement error in wages and work hours; and omitted variables that affect both wage offers and the propensity to work; as well as when age groups, education groups, race groups, and mothers of small children are analyzed separately.
Chapter 2 Female labor supply: A survey
Handbook of Labor Economics, 1986
This chapter surveys theoretical and empirical work on the labor supply of women, with special reference to women in Western economies, primarily the United States, in modem times. 1 The behavior of female labor supply has important implications for many other phenomena, including marriage, fertility, divorce, the distribution of family earnings and male-female wage differentials. The labor supply of women is aiso of interest because of the technical questions it poses. For example, since many women do not work, corner solutions are at least potentially a very important issue in both the theoretical and empirical analysis of female labor supply, even though in other contexts (e.g. studies of consumer demand) corner solutions are often ignored. [For recent discussions of this issue *We thank Ricardo Barros, Bo Honor~, Tom Mroz and John Pencavel for invaluable comments and suggestions; Wolfgang Franz, Heather Joshi and Alice and Masao Nakamura for help in assembling data on the "stylized facts" about female labor supply presented in Section 2; Eileen Funck and Paul Rabideau for research assistance; and Orley Ashenfelter and Richard Layard for patience.
2010. Labor Force Participation of Married Women...
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to highlight the factors that influence the decision of married women (in the age group of 16-60 years) to participate in labor force activities. Design/methodology/approach -This is an empirical study employing the non-linear maximum likelihood probability (probit) function on primary data (3,911 observations). Findings -Besides other variables it has been observed that poverty remains an important determinant of female labor participation. Research limitations/implications -On the basis of this paper, a socio-economic policy can be formulated for a developing country like Pakistan. Practical implications -A development policy (especially considering the gender aspects) can be formulated on the basis of this research for the enhancement of human resource development for a developing and an orthodox economy like Pakistan. Originality/value -This paper is beneficial to researchers, policy makers, and social scientists for the enhancement of the level of social welfare and equity through its findings.
1970
This study investigates the role of several important factors in terms of their influence on the supply of married women in Canada's labor force. The factors include income, child status, region of residence, family, holdings of assets and debts, labor force status of the husband, presence of other adults in the family, and residence in a metropolitan area. The data were obtained from a survey taken in April and May of 1964, and included 6,401 returns from non-farm families and unattached individuals.. Some findings were: (1) Married women are less likely to be in the labor force as their level of family income goes up, (2) The presence of a preschool child is a very strong deterrent to the mother's labor force participation, (3) For the youngest group of married women the region of residence is not a significant influence, but for older FOREWORD In 1966 the Special Labour Force Studies programme of publications was initiated by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. These research studies were designed to reach a broad audience interested in the changing nature and composition of the Canadian labour market. Some aspects of manpower development, however, require a somewhat more technical approach. For this reason, the present series (B), of which this is the fourth study, will be published as a companion series of technical papers. This study was initiated under the direction of Dr. Sylvia Ostry who, until recently, was Director, Special Manpower Studies and Consultation, and was completed after Mrs. Helen Buckley assumed responsibility as Chief, Special Manpower Research Section, Regional and Manpower Research Staff. The responsibility for the analysis and interpretation of the data is that of the authors and not of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. WALTER E. DUFFETT, Dominion Statistician. 4 PREFACE In the course of a study which extends over a period of two and onehalf years one incurs many debts. We would particularly like to thank Frank T. Denton and Sylvia Ostry who, before we became involved, undertook some preliminary analysis of the data on which our study is based. Dr. Ostry assumed responsibility for the overall direction of the study, even following her departure from the Bureau. We are grateful for her advice, consultation, and support at many stages. Professor Denton was always available to discuss the innumerable problems associated with an econometric study, to provide encouragement, and to remind us that a cutoff date was warranted. Mrs. Gail Oja, Chief, Research and Analysis, Consumer Finance Research Staff, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, read the manuscript carefully and helped us to avoid several errors in the interpretation of the data. In the typing of the manuscript we are indebted to Miss Helen Schreiner who miraculously turned handwritten pages bordering on the illegible into things of near beauty, and to Miss Linda Kisslinger, and Mrs. Marilyn Walker, who typed the final copy. For research assistance we are indebted to Mr. James A. Smith, who volunteered much of his time and energies, and to Mrs. Margaret Derrah. Finally we wish to thank our wives who continue to provide us with convenient case studies of why women do (Flora) and do not (Brenda) work.