How Credible Are Shrinking Wage Elasticities of Married Women Labour Supply?

Main author: Qin, Duo
Other authors: van Huellen, Sophie
Wang, Qing Chao
Format: Journal Article           
Online access: Click here to view record


Summary: This paper delves into the well-known phenomenon of shrinking wage elasticities for married women in the US over recent decades. The results of a novel model experimental approach via sample data ordering unveil considerable heterogeneity across different wage groups. Yet, surprisingly constant wage elasticity estimates are maintained within certain wage groups over time. In addition to those constant wage elasticity estimates, we find that the composition of working women into different wage groups has changed considerably, resulting in shrinking wage elasticity estimates at the aggregate level. These findings would be impossible to obtain had we not dismantled and discarded the instrumental variable estimation route.
Other authors: van Huellen, Sophie, Wang, Qing Chao
Language: English
Published: MDPI 2016