Working Paper: NBER ID: w14717
Authors: Jane Leber Herr; Catherine Wolfram
Abstract: Using data from the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates and a sample of Harvard alumnae, we study the relationship between work environment and the labor force participation of mothers. We first document a large variation in labor force participation rates across high-education fields. Mindful of the possibility of systematic patterns in the types of women who complete different graduate degrees, we use the rich information available in each dataset, and the longitudinal nature of the Harvard data, to assess the extent to which these labor supply patterns may reflect variation in the difficulty of combining work with family. While it is difficult to entirely rule out systematic sorting, our evidence suggests that non-family-friendly work environments "push" women out of the labor force at motherhood.
Keywords: Work environment; Labor force participation; Mothers; Family-friendly policies; High-education careers
JEL Codes: J01; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| non-family-friendly work environments (J81) | lower labor force participation rates among mothers (J22) |
| family-friendly environments before first birth (J13) | remain in the workforce after motherhood (J22) |
| type of graduate degree (A23) | work environment (J81) |
| work environment (J81) | labor supply outcomes (J20) |
| selection bias (C24) | influence of work environment on labor supply decisions (J29) |