We introduce borrowing constraints into the life-cycle theory of labor supply and show that they account for observed profiles in consumption, earnings, and hours worked. They can also account for differences in occupational choice across individuals who differ in initial wealth, marital status, or ability. This formalizes several aspects of observed differences in the labor-force behavior of men and women.

When creditors do not honor human capital as collateral, firms can mediate financially by offering workers long-term wage contracts. The optimal contract specifies a wage consisting of a spot general skill component plus a component equal to the expected time-averaged value of the worker's specific skills with a competitor. Variations in the smoothed specific component are due only to changes in expectations about the likelihood of quitting a competing firm. The theory also explains interindustry disparities in wage paths and statistical discrimination by firms.