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The Willingness to Pay for Job Amenities: Evidence from Mothers' Return to Work

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  • Christina Felfe

Abstract

This study is the first to estimate mothers’ marginal willingness to pay (MWP) for job amenities directly. Its identification strategy relies on German maternity leave length. The key aspect of the maternal leave framework is that mothers can decide whether and when to return to their guaranteed job. Thus, in contrast to previous studies that analyze the job search of employed workers, this framework allows us to overcome the limitation of not observing the wage/amenity offer process. A theoretical model of the leave length decision is derived from a random utility approach. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Qualification and Career Survey, this model is estimated by a discrete duration method. The MWP for amenities can be inferred through the estimated elasticities of the leave length with respect to the amenities and the wage. The results provide evidence that mothers are willing to sacrifice a significant fraction of their wage to reduce hazards (22%) and to enjoy a flexible working schedule (36-56%).

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Felfe, 2009. "The Willingness to Pay for Job Amenities: Evidence from Mothers' Return to Work," CESifo Working Paper Series 2743, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2743
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    2. Stockton, Isabel & Bergemann, Annette & Brunow, Stephan, 2016. "There And Back Again: Women's Marginal Commuting Costs," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145919, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Mari, Gabriele, 2020. "Working-time flexibility is (not the same) for all: Evidence from a right-to-request reform," SocArXiv bnp9r, Center for Open Science.
    4. Yu‐Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2010. "Booms, Recessions And Financial Turmoil: A Fresh Look At Investment Decisions Under Cyclical Uncertainty," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 57(3), pages 290-317, July.
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    6. Petreski, Marjan. & Mojsoska-Blazevski, Nikica., 2015. "The gender and motherhood wage gap in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia : an econometric analysis," ILO Working Papers 994895293402676, International Labour Organization.
    7. Bachmann, Ronald & Stepanyan, Gayane, 2020. "It's a woman's world? Occupational structure and the rise of female employment in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 889, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Del Rey, Elena & Racionero, Maria & Silva, Jose I., 2024. "Employer vs government parental leave: Labour market effects," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    9. Matteo Picchio & Claudia Pigini & Stefano Staffolani & Alina Verashchagina, 2021. "If not now, when? The timing of childbirth and labor market outcomes," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(6), pages 663-685, September.
    10. Jelena Zarkovic Rakic & Marko Vladisavljevic & Jorge Davalos, 2019. "The Effects of Austerity Measures on Gender Gaps in Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers PMMA 2019-02, PEP-PMMA.
    11. Gafni Dalit & Siniver Erez, 2015. "Is There a Motherhood Wage Penalty for Highly Skilled Women?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(3), pages 1353-1380, July.
    12. Geraci, Andrea & L. Bryan, Mark, 2016. "Non-standard work: what’s it worth? Comparing alternative measures of workers’ marginal willingness to pay," ISER Working Paper Series 2016-12, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    13. Jason Sockin, 2022. "Show Me the Amenity: Are Higher-Paying Firms Better All Around?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9842, CESifo.
    14. Fang, Tony & Lee, Byron & Timming, Andrew R. & Fan, Di, 2019. "The Effects of Work-Life Benefits on Employment Outcomes in Canada: A Multivariate Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Azar, Sana & Khan, Aamir & Van Eerde, Wendelien, 2018. "Modelling linkages between flexible work arrangements' use and organizational outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 134-143.
    16. V. Joseph Hotz & Per Johansson & Arizo Karimi, 2017. "Parenthood, Family Friendly Workplaces, and the Gender Gaps in Early Work Careers," NBER Working Papers 24173, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Sam Desiere & Christian Walker, 2023. "The Shift Premium: Evidence From A Discrete Choice Experiment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 23/1074, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. Gafni Dalit & Siniver Erez, 2018. "The Motherhood Penalty: Is It a Wage-Dependent Family Decision?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, October.
    19. Bünning, Mareike & Pollmann-Schult, Matthias, 2016. "Parenthood, child care, and nonstandard work schedules in Europe," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(4), pages 295-314.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    marginal willingness to pay; maternal labor supply; discrete duration models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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