The Effect of Taxation on the Hours Worked by Married Women

Abstract:We study the large observed changes in labor supply by married women in the United States over the post-World War II period, a period that saw little change in the labor supply by single women. We investigate the effects of changes in the gender wage gap, the quantitative impact of technological improvements in the production of nonmarket goods, and the potential inferiority of nonmarket goods in explaining the dramatic change in labor supply. We find that small decreases in the gender wage gap can simultaneously explain the significant increases in the average hours worked by married women and the relative constancy in the hours worked by single women and by single and married men. We also find that the impact of technological improvements in the household on married female hours and on the relative wage of females to males is too small for realistic values. Some specifications of the inferiority of home goods match the hours patterns, but they have counterfactual predictions for wages and expenditure patterns.

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THE HOURS WORKED–PRODUCTIVITY PUZZLE: IDENTIFICATION IN A FRACTIONAL INTEGRATION SETTING

Macroeconomic Dynamics ◽

10.1017/s1365100514000029 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 19 (7) ◽

pp. 1593-1621 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yuliya Lovcha ◽

Alejandro Perez-Laborda

Keyword(s):

Business Cycle ◽

Fractional Integration ◽

Real Business Cycle ◽

Data Sets ◽

Sampling Uncertainty ◽

Hours Worked ◽

Long Run ◽

The Hours ◽

Short Run ◽

Technology Shock

A recent finding of the SVAR literature is that the response of hours worked to a (positive) technology shock depends on the assumed order of integration of the hours. In this work we relax this assumption, allowing fractional integration in hours and productivity. We find that the sign and magnitude of the estimated responses depend crucially on the identification assumptions employed. Although the responses of hours recovered with short-run (SR) restrictions are positive in all data sets, long-run (LR) identification results in negative, although sometimes not significant responses. We check the validity of these assumptions with the Sims procedure, concluding that both LR and SR are appropriate to recover responses in a fractionally integrated VAR. However, the application of the LR scheme always results in an increase in sampling uncertainty. Results also show that even the negative responses found in the data could still be compatible with real business cycle models.

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Forecasting the Effects of a Negative Income Tax Program

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/001979398203500205 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 221-234 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Terry R. Johnson ◽

John H. Pencavel

Keyword(s):

Labor Supply ◽

Income Tax ◽

Single Women ◽

Married Women ◽

Negative Income ◽

Married Men ◽

Supply Functions ◽

Hours Of Work ◽

The Hours ◽

Negative Income Tax

This paper outlines a scheme that forecasts the change in net earnings or in hours worked that results from the introduction of a negative income tax (NIT) program. The authors illustrate this scheme by estimating labor supply functions for married men, married women, and single women who participated in the Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiments. These functions are then used to simulate the effects of several NIT programs. The findings suggest that changes in the wage rate of an individual covered by an NIT program result in important changes in the hours of work of the individual's spouse.

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TECHNOLOGY SHOCKS AND HOURS WORKED: A FRACTIONAL INTEGRATION PERSPECTIVE

Macroeconomic Dynamics ◽

10.1017/s1365100509080249 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 580-604 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Luis Alberiko Gil-Alana ◽

Antonio Moreno

Keyword(s):

Dynamic Response ◽

Fractional Integration ◽

Integrated Model ◽

Technology Shocks ◽

Hours Worked ◽

Ex Ante ◽

The Hours ◽

Technology Shock

Previous research has found that the dynamic response of hours worked to a technology shock crucially depends on whether the hours variable is assumed to be an I(0) or an I(1) variable ex ante. In this paper we employ a multivariate fractionally integrated model that allows us to simultaneously estimate the order of integration of hours worked and its dynamic response to a technology shock. Our evidence lends support to the hypothesis that hours fall in response to a positive technology shock.

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Maori pakeha differentials in incomes and hours worked: a study of sample data for selected occupations

New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations ◽

10.26686/nzjir.v10i2.3385 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Peter Brosnan

Keyword(s):

Representative Sample ◽

Occupational Choice ◽

Census Data ◽

Job Assignment ◽

Hours Worked ◽

Sample Data ◽

The Hours

Studies which compare Maori and non-Maori incomes have used either aggregate census data or a non-representative sample. This study uses 8 very restrictive samples drawn for the 4 occupations which employ the most Maori then and the 4 which employ the most Maori women. It is found that there are significant differences in the hours worked by the Maoris and pakehas in the samples. When hours worked plus age and location are controlled for there are no significant earnings differences for 7 of the 8 occupations. The results suggest that policies to improve Maori earnings must continue to be directed at the factors which affect occupational choice and job assignment.

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Cyclicality of Hours Worked by Married Women and Spousal Insurance

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3023554 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kathrin Ellieroth

Keyword(s):

Married Women ◽

Hours Worked

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Hours Worked Across the World: Facts and Driving Forces

National Institute Economic Review ◽

10.1177/002795011924700110 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 247 ◽

pp. R3-R9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln

Keyword(s):

Western Europe ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Married Couples ◽

Married Women ◽

Data Sets ◽

Micro Data ◽

Hours Worked ◽

The Us ◽

Employment Rates ◽

Rich Countries

I summarise new facts on hours worked differences across countries and their driving forces. The facts are derived from a comprehensive analysis of micro data sets. First, hours worked are substantially higher in poor than in rich countries. Second, lower hours worked in Europe than in the US can partly be explained by differences in vacation weeks and partly by differences in the demographic structure. Moreover, employment rates tend to be higher and weekly hours worked lower in Western Europe and Scandinavia than in the US, with the opposite being true in Eastern and Southern Europe. Last, among core-aged individuals, married women form the group that exhibits the largest differences in hours worked across countries. International differences in taxation, and especially in the tax treatment of married couples, are an important driver of these differences.

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