The first chapter considers the problem of determining the extent of any state dependencies in women's labor supply behavior. Employment outcomes are modeled using a dynamic multinomial choice framework including persistent unobserved heterogeneity with a relatively general distribution. In order to ensure reliable parameter estimates, appropriate restrictions are imposed on the distribution of unobservables. Significant state dependence is present in both full-time and part-time employment. State dependencies are overestimated if persistent unobservables are ignored, and underestimated if an overly restrictive form of persistence is imposed. The second chapter investigates the effects of qualifications, household structure and family background on the occupational penalty suffered by women in part-time employment. The analysis uses a dynamic multinomial modeling framework in which hours of work and occupational attainment are jointly determined. At the bottom of the occupational hierarchy 'degree level qualifications improve the occupational attainment of women in part-time employment relative to that of women working full-time, while at top of the occupational hierarchy degree level qualifications benefit full-timers more than part-timers. Women with children have higher occupational attainment and experience a smaller parttime occupational penalty than childless women. The final chapter generalizes the standard labor supply model by allowing individuals' preferences to be defined over a variety of non-market time uses and an aggregate good. The labor supply behavior implied by this generalized model is compared to that suggested by a standard labor supply model. Estimates of wage elasticities and marginal effects are found to be sensitive to whether preferences are defined over total leisure or the separate components of leisure. The difference between the predictions of the two models is attributed to a combination of the effect of individual heterogeneity and the presence of corner solutions for the time allocated to several non-market activities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:487048 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Prowse, Victoria Liza |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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