IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jhucap/doi10.1086-702924.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Education and Marriage Decisions of Japanese Women and the Role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act

Author

Listed:
  • Linda N. Edwards
  • Takuya Hasebe
  • Tadashi Sakai

Abstract

The Japanese Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) of 1985 aimed to reduce gender discrimination in the labor market, especially for career-oriented jobs. This paper investigates whether this act had an unanticipated effect on women’s marriage decisions. Using micro data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, we model women’s interrelated decisions on university education and whether to marry, focusing on whether women have married by age 32. Our results show a negative relationship between university education and marriage that is much greater for post-EEOA cohorts of women than for pre-EEOA cohorts, consistent with our hypothesis that the enhanced career opportunities associated with the EEOA stimulated women to delay or forgo marriage.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda N. Edwards & Takuya Hasebe & Tadashi Sakai, 2019. "Education and Marriage Decisions of Japanese Women and the Role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 260-292.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/702924
    DOI: 10.1086/702924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/702924
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/702924
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/702924?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hashimoto, Yuki & Kondo, Ayako, 2012. "Long-term effects of labor market conditions on family formation for Japanese youth," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-22.
    2. Edwards, Linda N. & Pasquale, Margaret K., 2003. "Women's higher education in Japan: Family background, economic factors, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Law," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-32, March.
    3. Kazuyasu Sakamoto & Yukinobu Kitamura, 2007. "Marriage Behavior from the Perspective of Intergenerational Relationships," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 76-122.
    4. Claudia Goldin, 1992. "The Meaning of College in the Lives of American Women: The Past One-Hundred Years," NBER Working Papers 4099, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Abe, Yukiko, 2010. "Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the gender wage gap in Japan: A cohort analysis," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 142-155, April.
    6. Yoshio Higuchi, 2001. "Women's Employment in Japan and the Timing of Marriage and Childbirth," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 52(2), pages 156-184, June.
    7. Lars Lefgren & Frank McIntyre, 2006. "The Relationship between Women's Education and Marriage Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(4), pages 787-830, October.
    8. Suqin Ge, 2011. "Women's College Decisions: How Much Does Marriage Matter?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(4), pages 773-818.
    9. Grossbard,Shoshana A. (ed.), 2003. "Marriage and the Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521814546, January.
    10. Faruqee, Hamid & Muhleisen, Martin, 2003. "Population aging in Japan: demographic shock and fiscal sustainability," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 185-210, April.
    11. James Raymo, 2003. "Educational attainment and the transition to first marriage among Japanese women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(1), pages 83-103, February.
    12. Hasebe, Takuya, 2013. "Marginal effects of a bivariate binary choice model," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 298-301.
    13. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Peng, Xiujian, 2007. "Japan's fertility transition: Empirical evidence from the bounds testing approach to cointegration," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 263-278, March.
    14. Grossbard,Shoshana A. (ed.), 2003. "Marriage and the Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521891431, January.
    15. Edwards, Linda N., 1994. "The status of women in Japan: Has the equal employment opportunity law made a difference?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 217-240.
    16. Abe, Yukiko, 2011. "The Equal Employment Opportunity Law and labor force behavior of women in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 39-55, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Julen Esteban‐Pretel & Junichi Fujimoto, 2022. "How do marital formation and dissolution differ across employment statuses? Analysis of Japanese non‐regular employees," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 425-461, December.
    2. Abe, Yukiko, 2016. "On the convergence in female participation rates," Discussion paper series. A 301, Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University.
    3. Yukiko Abe, 2016. "On the convergence in female participation rates," ERSA conference papers ersa16p473, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Mustafa Coban, 2021. "rbprobit: Recursive bivariate probit estimation and decomposition of marginal effects," London Stata Conference 2021 20, Stata Users Group.
    5. Abayomi Samuel Oyekale, 2023. "Effect of Health Insurance Uptake on Hesitancy toward COVID-19 Vaccines in Nigeria: A Recursive Bivariate Probit and Decomposition Estimation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Mustafa Coban, 2022. "rbicopula: Recursive bivariate copula estimation and decomposition of marginal effects," 2022 Stata Conference 04, Stata Users Group.
    7. Abe, Yukiko, 2018. "Effects of demographic compositional changes on the convergence of female participation rates," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 97-104.
    8. Mustafa Coban, 2022. "Recursive bivariate copula estimation and decomposition of marginal effects," Northern European Stata Conference 2022 09, Stata Users Group.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stéphane Mechoulan, 2006. "Divorce Laws and the Structure of the American Family," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 143-174, January.
    2. Abe, Yukiko, 2011. "The Equal Employment Opportunity Law and labor force behavior of women in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 39-55, March.
    3. Yamaguchi, Yohei, 2019. "A practice-theory-based analysis of historical changes in household practices and energy demand: A case study from Japan," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 207-218.
    4. Bertocchi, Graziella & Brunetti, Marianna & Torricelli, Costanza, 2014. "Who holds the purse strings within the household? The determinants of intra-family decision making," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 65-86.
    5. Bertocchi, Graziella & Brunetti, Marianna & Torricelli, Costanza, 2011. "Marriage and other risky assets: A portfolio approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 2902-2915, November.
    6. Susanne Elsas, 2016. "Income Sharing within Households: Evidence from Data on Financial Satisfaction," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Gale, William & Pence, Karen, 2006. "Are Successive Generations Getting Wealthier, and If So, Why?Evidence from the 1990s," MPRA Paper 55502, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Libertad González & Berkay Özcan, 2013. "The Risk of Divorce and Household Saving Behavior," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(2), pages 404-434.
    9. Sanjaya DeSilva & Mohammed Mehrab Bin Bakhtiar, 2011. "Women, Schooling, and Marriage in Rural Philippines," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_701, Levy Economics Institute.
    10. Tansel Yilmazer & Angela Lyons, 2010. "Marriage and the Allocation of Assets in Women’s Defined Contribution Plans," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 121-137, June.
    11. Diana Ka-Yan Mok, 2005. "The Life Stages and Housing Decisions of Young Households: An Insider Perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(12), pages 2121-2146, December.
    12. Reiter-Gavish, Liron & Qadan, Mahmoud & Yagil, Joseph, 2021. "Financial advice: Who Exactly Follows It?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 244-258.
    13. Marcel Fafchamps & Agnes R. Quisumbing & IFPRI, 2006. "Household Formation and Marriage Markets," Economics Series Working Papers GPRG-WPS-039, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    14. Yunhee Chang & Ki Lee, 2006. "Household Debt and Marital Instability: Evidence from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 675-691, December.
    15. Filippo Pericoli & Luigi Ventura, 2012. "Family dissolution and precautionary savings: an empirical analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 573-595, December.
    16. Murat G. Kırdar & Meltem Dayıoğlu & İsmet Koç, 2018. "The Effects of Compulsory-Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(4), pages 640-668.
    17. Dan Anderberg & Yu Zhu, 2014. "What a difference a term makes: the effect of educational attainment on marital outcomes in the UK," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 387-419, April.
    18. Jungmin Lee & Mark L. Pocock, 2007. "Intrahousehold allocation of financial resources: evidence from South Korean individual bank accounts," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 41-58, March.
    19. González-Val, Rafael & Marcén, Miriam, 2012. "Unilateral divorce versus child custody and child support in the U.S," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 613-643.
    20. Shoshana Grossbard & Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, 2008. "Cohort-level sex ratio effects on women’s labor force participation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 309-309, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/702924. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JHC .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.