Influence Labor Force Participation Research Articles

Does wife’s labour supply influence labour force participation of her elderly husband? Lessons from France

ABSTRACT Since the mid-1990s, the labour force participation of older men and women increased substantially in France. In this paper, we investigate the effect of having a participating wife on the labour market behaviour of her elderly husband. Working with data from the French Labour Force Survey and using the cohort-specific participation rate of women at age 40 as an instrument for their current participation, we find that the magnitude of the causal relationship is strong. The likelihood of husbands’ participation increases of about 19 points when their wives are currently active in the labour market. Such findings support the view that some complementarities in leisure exist so that French married men attribute a higher value to leisure when it is shared with their wife. It also suggests that policy makers should take into account both direct and indirect effects when they implement a change in the economic environment of elderly.

Long-term work outcomes and the efficacy of multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs on labor force participation in cancer patients - a protocol for a longitudinal prospective cohort study.

Background. Many cancer survivors experience late effects of cancer treatment and therefore struggle to return to work. Norway provides rehabilitation programs to increase labor force participation for cancer survivors after treatment. However, the extent to which such programs affect labor force participation has not been appropriately assessed. This study aims to investigate i) labor force participation, sick leave and disability rates among cancer survivors up to 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer and identify comorbidities contributing to long-term sick leave or disability pensioning; ii) how type of cancer, treatment modalities, employment sectors and financial- and sociodemographic factors may influence labor force participation; iii) how participation in rehabilitation programs among cancer survivor affect the longterm labor force participation, the number of rehospitalizations and incidence of comorbidities.Design and methods. Information from four medical, welfare and occupational registries in Norway will be linked to information from 163,279 cancer cases (15.68 years old) registered in the Norwegian Cancer Registry from 2004 to 2016. The registries provide detailed information on disease characteristics, comorbidities, medical and surgical treatments, occupation, national insurance benefits and demographics over a 10-year period following a diagnosis of cancer.Expected impact of the study for Public Health. The study will provide important information on how treatment, rehabilitation and sociodemographic factors influence labor force participation among cancer survivors. Greater understanding of work-related risk factors and the influence of rehabilitation on work-participation may encourage informed decisions among cancer patients, healthcare and work professionals and service planners.Significance for public healthThis study could potentially determine the influence of cancer treatment, rehabilitation and sociodemographic factors on labour force participation and use of social benefits and health care resources. Data from five nationwide medical, welfare and occupational registries from the whole cancer population in Norway over a ten-year period following diagnosis will be analyzed. In addition, the study will expand the knowledge on risk factors for rehospitalization, sick leave and disability, and provide important health-related, financial and sociodemographic information of patients referred to rehabilitation. The study has the potential to provide solid evidence to guide treatment options and develop social benefit programs for a large and vulnerable patient population.

THE EFFECTS OF ILL-HEALTH AND DISABILITIES ON LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION AMONG NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS

Nigeria has demeaning health statistics together with declining labour supply despite the large population size. This paper investigated the effect of illness, disability and other socio-demographic factors on labour force participation among Nigerian households. This study is cross-sectional in which secondary data from the General Household Survey (2015/2016) was used for the analysis. A representative sample of 4,200 household heads was used for the analyses. Both predictive and descriptive analyses were undertaken. Binary logistic regression was used to investigate predictors of labour force participation among the household heads. The data revealed that 52.1% of respondents were engaged in labour force. Controlling for other variables, the various forms of disabilities, ill-health, body injury, gender and educational attainment were significant determinants of labour force participation. The result provokes the need for policymakers to articulate policies that improve access to healthcare through the expansion of health insurance coverage. The study concluded that self-assessed health and education attainment influence labour force participation. Policies should be used to expand educational opportunities and improve access to healthcare services in Nigeria. To improve access to healthcare, the Nigeria government should increase the ownership of health insurance policy by broadening the coverage of the formal health insurance and encouraging community-based health insurance in the informal and rural sectors.

THE IMPACT OF LIFE-COURSE PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH ON LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND EXIT IN LATER LIFE

Adulthood psychological ill-health has implications for receipt of disability pension but less is known about the impact on other types of labour force participation and exit, or about the role of childhood psychological ill-health. This study examined associations between labour force participation at 55 years and lifecourse psychological health using the 1958 British birth cohort data. Labour force participation was self-reported at 55 years. Psychological ill-health was reported at 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42 and 50 years. Childhood and adulthood psychological ill-health were both associated with work place exit at 55y in terms of unemployment, permanent sickness and being a homemaker. The associations observed between childhood psychological health and labour force exit at 55y were largely independent of adulthood psychological ill-health and other adulthood factors. There were no gender differences. Childhood psychological ill-health may distally influence labour force participation and exit, having implications for the extending working lives agenda.

Identifying the Effect of Parenthood on Labor Force Participation: A Gender Comparison

Identifying the factors that influence labor force participation could elucidate how individuals arrive at their labor supply decisions, whose understanding is, in turn, of crucial importance in analyzing how the supply side of the labor market functions. This paper investigates the effect of parenthood status on Labor Force Participation (LFP) decisions using an individual-level fixed-effects identification strategy. The differences across individuals and over time in having or not having children as well as being or not being in the labor force provide the variation needed to assess the association between individuals’ LFP behavior and parenthood. Parenthood could have different impacts on mothers than it would on fathers. In order to look at the causal effect of maternity and paternity on LFP separately, the data is disaggregated by gender. To this end, the effect of a change in the parenthood status can be measured using individual-level fixed-effects to account for time-invariant characteristics of individuals becoming a parent. The primary data source used is the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS). Considering the nature of LFP variable, this paper employs Binary Response Models (BRMs) to estimate LFP equations using individual-level micro data. The findings of the study show that parenthood has a negative overall effect on LFP. However, paternity has a significant positive effect on the likelihood of being in the labor force, whilst maternity has a significant negative impact of LFP. In addition, the results imply that the effect of parenthood on LFP has been fading away over time, regardless of the gender of parents. These two pieces of evidence precisely map onto the theoretical predictions made by the related mainstream economic theories (the traditional neoclassical theory of labor supply as well as Becker’s household production model). These results are robust across different models specified and various estimation methods employed. These findings can contribute to the existing knowledge about the effect of parenthood on LFP decisions made in the US at an individual and behavioral level, and also aid in the shaping of economic policies and interventions to enhance the status of labor force participation in the economy. In the end, some potential threats to the identification of this causal effect, such as endogeneity of fertility, and some possible strategies to deal with those threats are discussed.

Gender in Job Negotiations: A Two‐Level Game

We propose taking a two‐level‐game perspective on gender in job negotiations. At Level One, candidates negotiate with employers. At Level Two, candidates negotiate with household members. In order to illuminate the interplay between these two levels, we review research from two separate bodies of literature. Research in psychology and organizational behavior on candidate–employer negotiations sheds light on the effects of gender on Level One negotiations. Research from economics and sociology on intrahousehold bargaining elucidates how negotiations over the allocation of domestic labor at Level Two influence labor force participation at Level One. In conclusion, we integrate practical implications from these two bodies of literature to propose a set of prescriptive suggestions for candidates to approach job negotiations as a two‐level game and to minimize the disadvantageous effects of gender on job negotiation outcomes.

Gender in Job Negotiations: A Two-Level Game

We propose a two-level-game (Putnam, 1988) perspective on gender in job negotiations. At Level 1, candidates negotiate with the employers. At Level 2, candidates negotiate with domestic partners. In order to illuminate the interplay between these two levels, we review literature from two separate bodies of literature. Research in psychology and organizational behavior on candidate-employer negotiations sheds light on the effects of gender on Level 1 negotiations. Research from economics and sociology on intra-household bargaining elucidates how negotiations over the allocation of domestic labor at Level 2 influence labor force participation at Level 1. In conclusion, we integrate practical implications from these two bodies of literature to propose a set of prescriptive suggestions for candidates to approach job negotiations as a two-level game and to minimize disadvantageous effects of gender on job negotiation outcomes.

The influence of living arrangements, marital patterns and family configuration on employment rates among the 1945-1954 birth cohort: evidence from ten European countries.

As they approach retirement, Europeans in mid-life display a range of living arrangements and marital patterns. These configurations influence labour force participation for men and women in different ways and these differences are accentuated between countries. Using data from the first Wave (2004) of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the paper examines the relationship between living arrangements, marital patterns, family configurations and participation in the labour force for the birth cohort of 1945-1954. The data show that the probability of being in paid employment was higher for respondents living in a couple in northern Europe than in southern Europe. In all countries, men in a couple had significantly higher employment rates than women in a couple, but employment rates of women in a couple differed significantly between countries. Multivariate analysis with country effects confirmed the negative influence of age, poor health, lower levels of education and household income on the probability of being in paid employment, but the effect of variables concerning living arrangements, marital patterns and family configurations varied according to country. A multilevel analysis showed that the between country variance of being in paid employment could not be explained by individual characteristics alone, that a large part of the country variance could be explained by the country specific effect of women in a couple, and that the level of 'modern' life styles in each country (rates of cohabitation outside marriage, divorce or separation and recomposed families) had a significant effect on employment rates, especially for women in a couple.

The Impact of Social Capital on Labor Force Participation: Evidence from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey

Objectives. Few studies apply the concept of social capital to labor force participation. In this research, I study the relationship between friendship networks and labor force participation as represented by employment and hours worked. Methods. I test five hypotheses representing social capital with network structure, network quality, and network diversity using nationally representative data from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey. Since this survey enables comparisons across racial/ethnic and gender groups, I am also able to specify how social capital interacts with race/ethnicity and gender to influence labor force participation, while controlling for other prominent theoretical concerns such as human capital theory. Results. I find that friendship networks are generally positively related with increased labor force participation. Further, I find significant social capital differences based on race/ethnicity and gender. Conclusions. I illustrate that social capital can be applied across a broader racial/ethnic/gender spectrum. The findings suggest that programs that attempt to bring valuable labor market information to individuals and communities lacking employment–related information are likely to be effective in reducing inequality, especially if combined with programs for developing human capital.

Older Workers: Are They a Viable Labor Force for the Foodservice Industry?

The "greying of America" will have an influence on the foodservice industry labor force, as the proportion of older workers increases. Numerous factors such as governmental and cor porate policy, as well as individual needs influence labor force participation of older individuals. Commonly held stereotypes about older workers are not generally supported by the literature, indicating special problems which older workers must overcome if they are to be successfully employed. The literature supports the use of specific employment and training in terventions if more older workers are to be successfully employed.

Length of Working Age of Males in Pakistan: 1973

The objective of this paper is to provide some estimates of the length of working life for males in Pakistan, using the more recently available data. The length of working life is defined as the average length of time for which a cohort can expect to remain in the labour force i.e. either actively employed or seeking employment. This measure is, determined by the levels of age-specific mortality of a hypothetical cohort and its levels of age-specific labour force participation. Therefore an improvement in mortality would tend to increase the length of economically active life and its deterioration would tend to shorten it. Other factors which influence the age-specific labour force participation and age-specific mortality rates are the indirect determinants of this measure. For example, improvements in health and medical facilities may reduce the incidence of premature retirements caused by physical ailments or disorders. Also, migration, nuptiality, fertility and school attendance rates may influence labour force participation rates and thereby affect the length of working life.

EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC DEPENDENCY ON LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 1

THE purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of economic dependency on labour force participation rates (LFPRs) in less developed countries (LDCs). It has been frequently hypothesized that increased dependency ratios lead to higher labour force activity: to meet the requirements of feeding more children, a greater proportion of adults, and perhaps older children also, may join the labour force.2 It is important to examine this effect of increased dependency on labour force activity because it is one of the principal positive economic effects hypothesized about high fertility and population increase. If higher participation rates result in greater output per family, this could at least partly compensate for the increased consumption burden per family caused by increased dependency ratios. This would in turn help explain the otherwise surprisingly low relationships observed between dependency ratios and saving rates.3 Moreover, better knowledge of how this and other factors influence labour force participation should help in the development of improved techniques for projecting the future size and composition of the labour force, which is important in longrun economic planning.