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  5. Gender, Working from Home and Female Labor Supply
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Gender, Working from Home and Female Labor Supply

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (EST)

Philadelphia Convention Center
Hosted By: American Economic Association & Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession
  • Chair: Orgul Ozturk, University of South Carolina

Recent Trends in Labor Supply Decisions among Married Couples in the United States

Nicole Simpson
,
Colgate University
Seonyoung Park
,
Colgate University

Abstract

It is well known that married women's labor supply in the United States began to increase significantly in the late 1950s, peaking in the late 1990s followed by a very slow increase since then, while married men's labor supply has steadily declined over time. However, this aggregate trend for women’s labor supply masks heterogeneity in labor supply behavior—working hours among women with children (those with at least one child under the age of 14) have continued to rise in recent decades. In this paper, we focus on the period since the late 1990s, aiming to explain labor supply behavior among mothers.
Using CPS March Supplement data (1998–2023), we document that married women, especially those with children, experienced the largest increases in work hours compared to their counterparts without children. In contrast, married men with children saw the greatest declines in work hours relative to men without children. Additionally, American Time Use Survey data show that fathers have increased the time they spend on childcare. Meanwhile, fertility rates have slightly risen, with childbirth occurring later than in the late 1990s.
Using a two-earner life-cycle model, we find that a reduced gender wage gap and increased male wage uncertainty significantly affect joint labor supply and fertility. The narrowing wage gap has a stronger impact on households with children, increasing mothers’ work hours while reducing fathers’—paired with an increase in fathers’ childcare time, highlighting the role of substitutability between mothers’ and fathers’ childcare time. The relative rise in women's wages, combined with men’s increased role in childcare, interactively drives women to work more, accelerating their human capital accumulation. In contrast, the effect of increased wage uncertainty among men is more neutral, as it leads to a similar increase in work hours for all women, regardless of the presence of children.

Breaking Barriers: How Policies, Norms, and Preferences Shape Women’s Labor Force Participation

Zhixiu Yu
,
Louisiana State University
Abdoulaye Ndiaye
,
New York University

Abstract

The labor force participation (LFP) of women in the United States has exhibited a complex trajectory over the past decades. After a 30-year increase, women’s LFP has stagnated since the 1990s, in contrast to the trends observed for men. As increased female LFP could substantially boost U.S. GDP growth, this stagnation in women’s LFP highlights the need for reforms that can address these barriers. This research seeks to study how policies, norms, and preferences collectively shape women’s labor force participation. What are the implications of the trends in female labor force participation in the U.S. on the best reforms to participation incentives? To tackle these questions, we develop a framework that models the dynamic nature of labor force participation decisions throughout an individual’s life.

Life-cycle Parental Occupational Choice and Child Development

Hyun Soo Suh
,
Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract

Parental time investments are crucial in shaping a child’s human capital and these patterns
vary by parental occupations. This paper seeks to bridge the two findings by analyzing the
effect of parental occupation choice including self-employment on early childhood development
outcomes. Using several nationally representative UK survey data, I first document how
married couples adjust their occupational choices and asset savings with the arrival of a child
through event study analyses. I then examine the mechanisms through which couples navigate
the time vs money trade-off across occupations, focusing on time allocations between
child-rearing and labor and childcare usage. Relating to child development, I implement threestages-
least-squares and show that parental time inputs are crucial and occupation has positive
and varying effects on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills compared to children
of non-working parents, controlling for time, financial inputs, and family and child characteristics.
To account for self-selection and capture the dynamics of household labor and time
investment decisions, I develop a structural household labor supply model with occupational
choice, embedding a child skill production function and time investments. Two key counterfactual
exercises include: i) the policy effect of promoting female self-employment to assess
how altering women’s occupational choices affects family outcomes and early childhood development
and ii) childcare subsidy policy and investigate how these subsidies, regardless of
parental occupation, indirectly influence both household budget constraints and subsequent
child outcomes. By quantifying these policy effects, this paper underscores the importance of
understanding gender differences in occupational choice and the interplay between parental
behavior and early childhood human capital formation.

Determinants of the Spousal Age Gap in India: Analysis of Indian Microdata

Praveen Praveen
,
Center of Policy Research and Governance-New Delhi
Suddhasil Siddhanta
,
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
Anoshua Chaudhuri
,
San Francisco State University

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of the spousal age gap (SAG) in India, utilizing data from the 61st and 68th rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSSO). We employ regression analysis, including instrumental variables, to address selection bias and account for unobservable factors. We hypothesize an inverted U-shaped relationship between educational assortative mating and SAG, where, keeping the husband’s education constant at the graduation level, the SAG first widens and then narrows as the wife’s education level increases from primary to postgraduate. This pattern is shaped by distinct socio-economic factors across rural and urban contexts. In rural areas, increasing prosperity, changes in family structure, and educational hypergamy contribute to a wider age gap, with the influence of bride squeeze further exacerbating this disparity. Conversely, in urban areas, while the growth of white-collar jobs initially contributed to a narrowing of the SAG in 2004-05, this trend did not persist by 2011-12. Specifically, the influence of income on SAG becomes nonlinear, showing declining trends beyond the 7th income quantile, reflecting limited marriage mobility opportunities for females and hinting at a possible threat to the institution of marriage among the urban upper class. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide empirical evidence on how specific social, economic, and cultural dynamics influence the spousal age gap in Indian society. This increasing or persistent spousal age gap has significant implications for the treatment of women, power dynamics, and violence within marriage.

Discussant(s)
Melanie Khamis
,
Wesleyan University
Orgul Ozturk
,
University of South Carolina
Emma Harrington
,
University of Virginia
Niels-Hugo Blunch
,
Washington and Lee University
JEL Classifications
  • Z0 - General
  • Z0 - General