Labour force transitions among low-wage married couples: a simultaneous probability model

Abstract

Interdependence in the labour force transitions of low-income married couples is studied. It utilizes a simultaneous probability model in which each person's job exit depends in part on the job transitions of their spouse. Estimates are based on data from the Seattle-Denver income maintenance experiments. The evidence appears to indicate that wives emulate the nonwork status of their husbands. Wives of exit-prone husbands are themsleves more exit-prone and less likely to enter employment. Evidence in favour of reverse dependence of husbands' status on wives' exits appears to be weak and imprecise.