Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6352
Authors: Stefania Albanesi; Claudia Olivetti
Abstract: Until the early decades of the 20th century, women spent more than 60% of their prime-age years either pregnant or nursing. Since then, the introduction of infant formula reduced women's comparative advantage in infant care, by providing an effective breast milk substitute. In addition, improved medical knowledge and obstetric practices reduced the time cost associated with women's reproductive role. We explore the hypothesis that these developments enabled married women to increase their participation in the labour force, thus providing the incentive to invest in market skills, which in turn reduced their earnings differential with respect to men. We document these changes and develop a quantitative model that aims to capture their impact. Our results suggest that progress in medical technologies related to motherhood was essential to generate a significant rise in the participation of married women between 1920 and 1950, in particular those with young children.
Keywords: female labour force participation; gender earnings gap; medical progress
JEL Codes: E24; J13; J16; J21; J22; J31; N3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Medical technologies (I11) | Increased labor force participation of married women (J49) |
| Introduction of infant formula (L66) | Reduced time spent on reproductive duties (J22) |
| Reduced time spent on reproductive duties (J22) | Increased labor force participation of married women (J49) |
| Medical practices (I11) | Decreased maternal mortality and postpartum disabilities (J13) |
| Decreased maternal mortality and postpartum disabilities (J13) | Increased labor force participation of married women (J49) |
| Increased labor force participation (J49) | Greater investments in market skills (J24) |
| Greater investments in market skills (J24) | Decreased gender earnings gap (J79) |