Common Law Marriage, Labor Supply, and Time Use: A Partial Explanation for Gender Convergence in Labor Supply

Abstract

Abstract Using micro data from CPS for the period 1995–2011 we investigate effects of Common Law Marriage (CLM) on labor outcomes and using the ATUS for the period 2003–2011 we study its effects on household production and leisure. Identification of CLM effects arises through cross-state variation and variation over time, as three states abolished CLM over the period examined in the CPS data. Labor supply effects of CLM availability are negative for married women: for instance, weekly hours of work are reduced by 1–2 hours. In addition, some CLM effects on married men’s labor supply are positive. Consequently, the abolition of CLM in some states helps explain the convergence of men and women’s labor supply. Negative CLM effects on married women’s labor supply are limited to white, Hispanic, college-educated women, and women with children. There is little evidence of effects of CLM on leisure and household production. A conceptual framework based on the concept of Work-In-Household, marriage market analysis, and the assumption of traditional gender roles helps explain gender differentials in the effects of CLM on labor supply and why these effects are larger for white and college-educated women.