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Labour Force Participation of Mature Age Men in Australia: The Role of Spousal Participation

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  • Mavromaras, Kostas

    (University of Adelaide)

  • Zhu, Rong

    (Flinders University)

Abstract

In this paper we estimate the interdependence of labour force participation decisions made by Australian couples from 2001 to 2011. We focus on couples with a mature age husband, and estimate the interdependence of the participation decision of the couple. We find that the decision of a wife to work or not influences positively, and in a causal fashion, the decision of her husband to work or not. In our paper we use counterfactual analysis to estimate the impact of the increasing labour force participation of a wife on her husband's participation. We find that the increased labour force participation of married women observed between 2002 and 2011 has been responsible for about a 4 percentage points increase in the participation of their mature age husbands.

Suggested Citation

  • Mavromaras, Kostas & Zhu, Rong, 2013. "Labour Force Participation of Mature Age Men in Australia: The Role of Spousal Participation," IZA Discussion Papers 7581, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7581
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Tammy Schirle, 2008. "Why Have the Labor Force Participation Rates of Older Men Increased since the Mid-1990s?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(4), pages 549-594, October.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    male employment trends; labour force participation; spousal status; joint decision making; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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