TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS OF FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN JAPAN

Abstract

In Japan, the declining birthrate and an aging population have made the labor supply by women very important. Numerous studies have analyzed the choice of women in having children or continuing to work. These studies provide very important insights into the employment choices of Japanese females. However, they mainly use micro data and focus only on specific time points. In this study, we investigate the effects of the average income, tax rate, and rate of advancement to university on employment behavior among Japanese women using time-series data. The results of multiple regression analyses suggest that male regular employment rate, average annual household income, female university advancement rate, and consumption tax rate have different effects on regular and non-regular employment rates of Japanese women. The male regular employment rate has positive effects on female regular employment rate, but it has no effect on female non-regular employment rate. The high household income seems to reduce the probability of women working as non-regular workers but does not seem to reduce the probability of them working as regular workers. The consumption tax rate has effects only on female non-regular employment rate. A high consumption tax rate promotes the female labor supply as non-regular workers.