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American Economic Review Vol. 103 No. 3 2013

Female Labor Supply: Why Is the United States Falling Behind?

Francine D. Blau1; Lawrence M. Kahn2

1 ILR School, Cornell University, 268 Ives Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. · 2 ILR School, Cornell University, 258 Ives Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853.

open access

Abstract

In 1990, the US had the sixth highest female labor participation rate among 22 OECD countries. By 2010 its rank had fallen to seventeenth. We find that the expansion of “family-friendly” policies, including parental leave and part-time work entitlements in other OECD countries, explains 29 percent of the decrease in US women's labor force participation relative to these other countries. However, these policies also appear to encourage part-time work and employment in lower level positions: US women are more likely than women in other countries to have full time jobs and to work as managers or professionals.

DOI
10.1257/aer.103.3.251
Volume
103
Issue
3
Pages
251-256
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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