The motherhood wage gap in the UK over the life cycle

This paper examines the impact of children on female wages in the UK using the National Child Development Study. The use of a longitudinal cohort study enables to estimate of the effect of children on wages for the same sample of women throughout their life-cycle until completed fertility. This study confirms some of the negative effects of motherhood on wages as found in the previous literature. The effect of a first child is on average 8.1 % at age 23, 22 % at age 33, 4.8 % at age 42 and 0 % at age 51. The effect of a second child is 16 % on average at age 33 only. Longitudinal nature of the data also allows the estimation of long run effects and the results indicate that the negative wage gap of motherhood persists even 30 years after first entering motherhood.     

No-Fault Divorce and the Compression of Marriage Ages

We examine how no-fault divorce law affects the age at first marriage, when everyone has a different value of marriage. The heterogeneity of individual values implies an unambiguous negative effect on the variance of marriage age. We test this hypothesis with marriage records from 1970 to 1995. Controlling for state-level heterogeneity and for time trends, the standard deviation of the log age at first marriage drops by approximately 5% with the introduction of no-fault divorce. We find that the mean age at first marriage increases slightly, suggesting that the mean person is slightly worse off with no-fault divorce. (JEL K0 , D1 )     

A DIRECT TEST OF THE EFFICIENT MARRIAGE MARKET HYPOTHESIS

This paper takes Becker's efficient marriage market hypothesis at face value, and directly confronts it with data from Hong Kong. The theory of optimal assignment is used to develop an empirical model of spouse selection, which resembles a Tobit model. This model can address positive or negative assortative matching as well as marginal product pricing in marriage markets. We also use a computer algorithm to solve the assignment problem for imputed marital output. The degree to which the actual pairing of husbands and wives corresponds to the optimal pairing provides a goodness-of-fit test of the efficient marriage market hypothesis. ( JEL C51, C61, C78, J12)     

The Socioeconomic Determinants of the Age at First Marriage among Women in Hong Kong

This paper analyzes the determinants of the age at first marriage among women using an integrated approach incorporating social, familial, and economic factors. Hazard analysis was applied to an original data set for Hong Kong containing 1,024 observations compiled on the basis of a household survey with respondents selected by random sampling. Our findings support the human capital hypothesis, which predicts that women with higher educational attainment and stronger career commitment tend to marry later. In addition, we find that social and family background characteristics are also important determinants of the age at first marriage, including how strongly traditional values and ties to the natal family are held by the women. This research was funded by grants from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and the Faculty Research Committee of the Hong Kong Baptist University, respectively. I would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers of this journal for their valuable comments.     

Social norms, cognitive dissonance and the timing of marriage

We present a model of courtship in which the timing of marriage is affected by the cognitive dissonance between perceived norms and personal aims. We argue that as long as the family has been the main provider of social protection, marriage has been favoured by strongly felt social norms, and thus people accepted less-than-ideal partners early on in their search in order to minimise the dissonance caused by the non-adherence to the custom. Once the Welfare state has replaced the family, these norms have lost their strength, so that agents can afford the luxury of searching their preferred partners at length without feeling at odds with their social duties. The model yields predictions in line with relevant stylised facts: the raising age of marriage, the prevalence of assortative mating and the common occurrence of divorce in the early years of marriage. We finally discuss the impact of late marriages on fertility, and argue that there need not be negative consequences if the declining role of the family becomes socially accepted, and alternative arrangements are made possible and indeed encouraged by means of an appropriate family policy.     

Marriage Delay,Time to Play? Marital Horizons and Hooking Up in College

Previous research suggests that an increasing age at first marriage has contributed to the prevalence of sexual hookups on U.S. college campuses. In this article, we use life course and marital horizons theories to analyze the influence of ideal age at first marriage on hooking up among unmarried heterosexual college students. Analyses of the Online College Social Life Survey (N = 17,981) show a positive association between ideal age at first marriage and hookups for most students, but not for students whose mothers have no post‐secondary education, Asian men, Asian women, and Latina women. Variation in ideal marriage timing does not account for gender, racial/ethnic, and class gaps in hookup participation. Results are discussed with reference to the role of sexuality in processes of stratification throughout young adulthood.     

UNDERPAID and OVERWORKED: MEASURING THE EFFECT OF IMPERFECT INFORMATION ON WAGES

This paper investigates the degree of shortfall between the wages workers earn and what they could earn assuming perfect or costless information in the labor market. We use the stochastic frontier regression technique to estimate the degree of shortfall found in wages on an individual basis. The paper tests, in addition, a number of hypotheses supplied by search theory in this context. The results generally confirm the propositions from search theory and indicate that, on the average, worker wages fall short of worker potential wages by approximately 10 percent.     

Fertility decline in Nigeria: the case of Ekpoma Region,Bendel State

Data concerning 624 randomly selected mothers in Ekpoma Region, Nigeria, are used to analyze socioeconomic and cultural determinants of fertility. Factors considered include education, occupation, income, religion, age at first marriage, breast-feeding, and contraceptive practice. The author concludes that the conditions for fertility decline are now in place and that this decline could be accelerated by discouraging early marriage, increasing female education, and promoting contraception.     

Determinants of the Egyptian labour migration

The objective is to summarize the pattern of Egyptian migration to Arab oil-producing countries (AOPC), to review some factors that are important determinants of labor movement based on theory, and to empirically model the migration rate to AOPC and to Saudi Arabia. Factors are differentiated as to their relative importance. Push factors are the low wages, high inflation rate, and high population density in Egypt; pull factors are higher wages. It is predicted that an increase in income from destination countries has a significant positive impact on the migration rate. An increase in population density stimulates migration. An increase in inflation acts to increase out-migration with a 2-year lag, which accommodates departure preparation. Egypt's experience with labor migration is described for the pre-oil boom, and the post-oil boom. Several estimates of labor migration are given. Government policy toward migration is positive. Theory postulates migration to be determined by differences in the availability of labor, labor rewards between destination and origin, and the cost of migration. In the empirical model, push factors are population density, the current inflation rate, and the ratio of income/capita in AOPC to Egypt. The results indicate that the ratio of income/capita had a strong pull impact and population density had a strong push impact. The inflation rate has a positive impact with a lag estimated at 2 years. Prior to the Camp David Accord, there was a significant decrease in the number of Egyptian migrants due to political tension. The findings support the classical theory of factor mobility. The consequences of migration on the Egyptian economy have been adverse. Future models should disaggregate data because chronic shortages exist in some parts of the labor market. Manpower needs assessment would be helpful for policy makers.     

Severity and determinants of stunting in children under age 2 years in Odisha (India): a tribal v/s non-tribal analysis

Prevalence of stunting among India’s tribal under-five children has witnessed a 3% annual decline in the last 8 years. Cross-sectional data of 1000 children (287 tribal and 713 non-tribal) aged 0–23 months from Odisha’s Rapid Survey of Children (RSOC, 2014) was analysed to identify the predictors of stunting and severe stunting among tribal children and to suggest policy and programme implications. Results show significant determinants of childhood stunting to be birth order, maternal illiteracy and determinants for severe stunting were maternal age <18 years at marriage and <20 years at birth, and <3 antenatal clinic visits. Severe stunting in tribal children was predicted by basic causes: poverty and maternal age <20 years at first birth and age <18 years at marriage. Findings strongly suggest to accelerate efforts towards reducing childhood stunting in Odisha more specifically among tribal children for whom a special strategy is urgently warranted.     

A consumer theory with competitive markets for work in marriage

The theory presented here aims at explaining individual consumer behavior inside marriage and prior to marriage. It is a New Home Economics (NHE) model in the sense that it assumes the existence of household production. It is an intra-household bargaining model in the sense that it assumes that husbands and wives typically have different economic interests with respect to marriage, and they try to negotiate arrangements that suit them best. The more resources they have, the more they may obtain results that favor them rather than their spouse. It is a market theory similar to standard labor market theory. This theory throws light on gender differences in demand for commercial goods that have home-produced substitutes. This theory leads to an explanation why women are charged more for dry-cleaning. The theory can also explain differences in demand for different products. Predictions include that of a sex ratio effect on consumption. For example, it is predicted that in countries with more emigration of men than women, women will be expected to make higher contributions to newly weds’ costs of housing. It is also predicted that there will be compensating differentials in marriage. For instance, women married to considerably older men are expected to have relatively more control over the use the couple’s income than women married to men who are close to their own age. In contrast to bargaining theory, the insights presented here apply to both married individuals and to those who anticipate being married in the future.     

Effects of public transit policies on taxi drivers’ wages

We investigate the effects of two public transit policies, subsidization and privatization, on the wages of taxi drivers. In theory, transit operating subsidies benefit transit firms at the expense of the taxi industry and its employees. By contrast, the privatization policy of contractingout transit service to lower cost private providers is potentially beneficial to taxi firms and their drivers. Estimated wage equations confirm that transit operating subsidies have negatively affected taxi driver wages even as they have bolstered transit drivers’ wages. Transit privatization has had the predicted positive effect on taxi driver wages, all else held constant. These results suggest that a more accurate assessment of the effect of transit operating subsidies on labor costs must encompass their net effects on the labor costs of the entire urban transportation sector, not just the public transit industry.     

Marriage and Women's Earnings from Work

Abstract

Marital status and earnings from work for women are studied using the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS), Young Women's Cohort. The study focuses on how being continuously married affects the earnings of women from young adulthood through their pre-retirement years. Earnings from work are measured by average annual wages between 1968 and 1999. Bivariate findings suggest that marriage and family are associated with lessening the wage-earning potential of women over the life course but multivariate analysis shows no effect beyond that of other measures accounted for in the study. Education and number of hours worked are positively related to earnings outcomes and the number of dependents has a negative effect. Policy makers who are calling for an increase in marriage-promoting activities for TANF recipients are using marriage as a primary solution for eliminating poverty and thereby ignoring real ways to help women earn more for themselves and their families. The use of TANF funds for encouraging marriage in general is also of questionable economic advantage to non-welfare women.     

Age at menarche among adolescent females in Zambia: implication for family formation

This study examines the relationships between age at menarche and two fertility related variables, expected age at marriage and expected number of children. The random sample consists of 525 secondary school-going females in the age range 13-21 years from the Copperbelt and Lusaka Central Provinces in Zambia. It was found that the age of menarche ranged from 10 to 18 years with a mean of 14.2 + 1.4 (mean + SD) years. The association between age at menarche and expected age at marriage was found to be weak but positive. Furthermore, the association of age at menarche with expected number of children was found to be weak but in the negative direction.     

Does marriage affect men’s labor market outcomes? A European perspective

Does marriage make men more productive, or do more productive men marry? Previous studies have reached different conclusions but have also been conducted using different methodologies in different countries and in different time periods. We use two sources of European panel data (spanning the years 1994–2001 and 2003–2007) to assess the relationship between marriage and labor market outcomes. By using data from 12 countries over a 13 year period, we are able to investigate the impact of marriage in different country groups and across time. We find that selection into marriage accounts for most of the differences in hours worked and wages between married and non-married men. With respect to wages we note that while the difference between married and non-married males has increased over time, the actual effect of marriage has disappeared.     

The Labor Supply of Female Heads of Household: Comparisons With Male Heads and Wives*

This paper compares a model of labor supply for female heads of household, male heads, and wives. Not only have female-headed households increased significantly as a proportion of all households in recent years, but these households are also more likely to be in poverty than are other households. Yet, the determinants of labor supply for this increasingly important demographic group still are largely unknown. Analyses are performed on a sample of employed female and male heads and wives from the 1976 Survey of Income and Education. We examine the effects of wages, unearned income, number of children, and several other variables on hours worked per year, allowing for race interactions. We find that female heads and wives are similar in the effects of wages on their labor supply, while female and male heads are similar in the positive effect of children. We conclude that although financial need, as evidenced by low wages and children, increases female heads’labor supply, employment in more advantaged, non-female dominated jobs and core industries is needed to promote their full participation in the labor force.     

Determinants of individual fertility and contraceptive use: a review and synthesis of the literature

This discussion, which reviews the fertility determinants literature from a sociopsychological or individual perspective, summarizes literature addressing the determinants of individual fertility, i.e., an individual's decision to use or not use an effective contraceptive method. Complete or definite answers about fertility determinants do not exist, but enough is known to provide an overview. From the 259 articles, monographs, and books examined and classified, 6 main classes of determinants were formed and analyzed: demographic; sociopsychological; experiential or behavioral; informational, including knowledge about reproduction and birth control; husband and wife interaction; and environmental. Gaps in the existing literature about these determinants are identified and a sociopsychological model integrating existing knowledge is proposed. In general, the following groups of individuals have relatively high fertility and/or relatively low or ineffective contraceptive use: low socioeconomic status, adolescents and people aged 40 and older, Catholics and highly religious, rural, many siblings, unemployed women or working women who do not attach great importance to their careers; and ethnic minorities. Sociopsychological determinants of fertility and contraceptive use have been classified into 2 groups: personality traits and values and attitudes. In general, the evidence linking values and attitudes to fertility-related behavior is stronger than personality traits, but some promising work in the personality area is being conducted. In general an early age at 1st marriage related to higher fertility, and duration of marriage positively associated with fertility as is a younger age at 1st birth. In general, there is a positive correlation between contraceptive knowledge and contraceptive behavior. Certain aspects of the husband/wife relationship, including the allocation of roles and responsibilities between husband and wife and the scope and frequency of their communication--are related to their fertility and contraceptive use. The extent to which family planning programs contribute to fertility decline, over and above the effects due to modernization and development, remains unanswered empirically. The following gaps in the literature were observed: the need for more research on the role of the male partner in determining fertility and contraceptive use, the experiential or behavioral determinants of fertility and contraceptive use, employment history, environmental aspects, and integration of the area into theoretical framework(s) capable of empirical verification.     

Ethnic intermarriage among immigrants: human capital and assortative mating

This paper analyzes the determinants of interethnic marriages by immigrants in the United States. The dependent variable is intermarriage across ethnic groups (on the basis of ancestry and country of birth) and the inclusion of the explanatory variables is justified by a simple rational choice economic model. A binomial logistic regression is estimated using data from the 1980 US Census, the last Census where post-migration marriages can be identified. Results show that the probability of intermarriage increases the longer a migrant resides in the U.S. and the younger the age at arrival. Both relationships can be attributable to the accumulation of US-specific human capital and an erosion of ethnic-specific human capital. Inter-ethnic marriages are more likely between individuals with similar education levels, providing evidence of positive assortative mating by education for immigrants. The construction of the “availability ratio” for potential spouses from one’s own group and group size where one lives using data from several Censuses provides a the measure of the marriage market. Intermarriage is lower the greater the availability ratio and the larger the size of one’s own group. Linguistic distance of the immigrant’s mother tongue from English indirectly measures the effect of English language proficiency at arrival and is found to be a significant negative predictor of intermarriage. Those who report multiple ancestries and who were previously married are more likely to intermarry.     

Market hours,household work,child care,and wage rates of partners: an empirical analysis

The aim of this paper is to provide new evidence on the effect of partners’ wages on partners’ allocation of time. Earlier studies concluded that wage rates are an important determinant of partners’ hours of market and non-market work and also that house work may lower married women’s wage rates. However, the bulk of earlier literature in this area failed to account for the endogeneity of wages or the simultaneity of partners’ time allocation choices. Here we take a reduced form approach and specify a ten simultaneous equations model of wage rates, employment and hours of market work, house work and childcare of parents. Non-participants are included in the model. We exploit a rich time use dataset for France to estimate the model. We find that the own wage affects positively own market hours and negatively own house work and childcare hours. The wage of the father has a significantly negative effect on the mother’s market hours while her wage rate has a significantly positive effect on his house work hours.     

INTERMARRIAGE AND THE LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES OF ASIAN WOMEN

The impact of intermarriage with natives, on labor market outcomes of immigrants, is not homogeneous across ethnic groups. Wages of Asian women are compared with non‐Asians. Both ordinary least squares and instrumental variables estimates of the effects of intermarriage on the wages of Asian women are negative and significant. Non‐Asian women earn a wage premium that becomes insignificant when controls for selection into marriage are introduced. One possible explanation for the intermarriage penalty for Asians is an income effect of having a high‐earning native husband. Intermarriage penalties rise with husband's education. Assimilation patterns of intermarried Asians indicate that they have lower initial wages, market hours, and employment, but exhibit faster rates of growth over their years of stay. The results are robust across Asian subgroups and husband's ethnicity. (JEL J16, J12, J31, J61)