Working Paper: NBER ID: w14873
Authors: Stefania Albanesi; Claudia Olivetti
Abstract: The entry of married women into the labor force is one of the most notable economic phenomena of the twentieth century. We argue that medical progress played a critical role in this process. Improved maternal health alleviated the adverse effects of pregnancy and childbirth on women's ability to work, while the introduction of infant formula reduced mothers' comparative advantage in infant feeding. We construct economic measures of these two dimensions of medical progress and develop a quantitative model that aims to capture their impact. Our results suggests that these advances, by enabling women to reconcile work and motherhood, were essential for the rise in married women's participation and the evolution of their economic role.
Keywords: Gender roles; Medical progress; Labor force participation; Maternal health; Infant feeding
JEL Codes: E24; J16; J21; J22; N3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| introduction of infant formula (L66) | married women's labor force participation (J21) |
| time price of infant formula (Q11) | married women's labor force participation (J21) |
| medical progress (I19) | married women's labor force participation (J21) |
| improved maternal health (I15) | married women's labor force participation (J21) |