American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
ISSN 1945-7707 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7715 (Online)
Changing Business Cycles: The Role of Women's Employment
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
(pp. 345–90)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Women's labor force participation in the United States rose rapidly until the mid-1990s when it flattened out. I examine the impact of this change in trend on aggregate business cycles with a quantitative model that incorporates gender differences. I show that the rise in women's participation played a substantial role in the Great Moderation and not allowing for gender differences leads to incorrect inference on its causes. The subsequent slowdown in women's participation played a substantial role in jobless recoveries and reduced aggregate hours and output growth in expansions, worsening aggregate economic performance in the United States.Citation
Albanesi, Stefania. 2025. "Changing Business Cycles: The Role of Women's Employment." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 17 (4): 345–90. DOI: 10.1257/mac.20210138Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E13 General Aggregative Models: Neoclassical
- E23 Macroeconomics: Production
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply