Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
Women in the Labor Market and in the Family
Journal of Economic Perspectives
(pp. 9–23)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
There are two themes in this paper. First, we argue that the conventional wisdom of an absence of any substantial labor market progress for women is mistaken. Instead, throughout this century, women's wages have been steadily rising relative to those of men, a progress likely to accelerate in the next few decades. Second, we contend that this labor market progress is not enough. Alongside their labor market advances, the relative economic plight of many women is worsening. The downside news is the increasing feminization of poverty, a reflection of the growing instability of the American family.Citation
Smith, James P., and Michael Ward. 1989. "Women in the Labor Market and in the Family." Journal of Economic Perspectives 3 (1): 9–23. DOI: 10.1257/jep.3.1.9JEL Classification
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J71 Labor Discrimination
- K31 Labor Law