IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v59y2005i1p119-140.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Time off at What Price? The Effects of Career Interruptions on Earnings

Author

Listed:
  • Christy Spivey

Abstract

Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, the author explores how nonemployment spells and career expectations affected men's and women's wages. Wage profiles were affected by total nonemployment time, by recent work interruptions, and by some past interruptions. Statistically significant interruptions were more numerous for women than men, but the wage loss associated with any given interruption was less severe for women. Future career interruptions, which workers presumably anticipate in many cases, affected current investment in human capital to some degree for both sexes. The wage effects of the timing of experience (defined by the fraction of weeks worked, by specific years) correspond closely to the wage effects of interruptions (calendar years without work): when the analysis accounts for the former, little additional penalty is found to have been associated with the latter. A very small fraction of the gender wage gap was attributable solely to timing of experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Christy Spivey, 2005. "Time off at What Price? The Effects of Career Interruptions on Earnings," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(1), pages 119-140, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:59:y:2005:i:1:p:119-140
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390505900107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979390505900107
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979390505900107?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yoram Weiss & Reuben Gronau, 1981. "Expected Interruptions in Labour Force Participation and Sex-Related Differences in Earnings Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 48(4), pages 607-619.
    2. Bound, John & Johnson, George, 1992. "Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980's: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 371-392, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    2. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2013. "The Feasibility and Importance of Adding Measures of Actual Experience to Cross-Sectional Data Collection," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(S1), pages 17-58.
    3. Julie L. Hotchkiss & M. Melinda Pitts & Mary Beth Walker, 2017. "Impact of first birth career interruption on earnings: evidence from administrative data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(35), pages 3509-3522, July.
    4. Gerst, Benedikt & Grund, Christian, 2017. "Career Interruptions and Current Earnings: The Role of Interruption Type, Compensation Component, and Gender," IZA Discussion Papers 10713, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Zhang, Xuelin, 2008. "The Post-childbirth Employment of Canadian Mothers and the Earnings Trajectories of Their Continuously Employed Counterparts, 1983 to 2004," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2008314e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    6. Fraga, Eduardo & Gonzaga, Gustavo & Soares, Rodrigo R., 2017. "Selection on Ability and the Early Career Growth in the Gender Wage Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 10791, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Solomon W. Polachek & Jun Xiang, 2009. "The Gender Pay Gap across Countries: A Human Capital Approach," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Uta Schönberg & Johannes Ludsteck, 2014. "Expansions in Maternity Leave Coverage and Mothers' Labor Market Outcomes after Childbirth," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(3), pages 469-505.
    9. Munasinghe, Lalith & Reif, Tania & Henriques, Alice, 2008. "Gender gap in wage returns to job tenure and experience," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1296-1316, December.
    10. Haney, Timothy, 2012. "Off to Market: Neighborhood and Individual Employment Barriers for Women in 21st Century American Cities," SocArXiv 57e4a, Center for Open Science.
    11. Verbruggen, M. & van Emmerik, H. & van Gils, A.E.J. & Meng, C.M. & de Grip, A., 2015. "Does early-career underemployment impact future career success? A path dependency perspective," ROA Research Memorandum 007, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    12. Castro Silva, Hugo & Lima, Francisco, 2017. "Technology, employment and skills: A look into job duration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1519-1530.
    13. Hänisch, Carsten & Klos, Jonas, 2016. "Long-run effects of career interruptions: A micro-simulation study," Discussion Paper Series 2016-03, University of Freiburg, Wilfried Guth Endowed Chair for Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    2. Keane, Michael P. & Todd, Petra E. & Wolpin, Kenneth I., 2011. "The Structural Estimation of Behavioral Models: Discrete Choice Dynamic Programming Methods and Applications," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 4, pages 331-461, Elsevier.
    3. Blau, Francine D. & Kahn, Lawrence M., 1999. "Analyzing the gender pay gap," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 625-646.
    4. Cristóbal Huneeus & Andrea Repetto, 2005. "The Dynamics of Earnings in Chile," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Jorge Restrepo & Andrea Tokman R. & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Series Edi (ed.),Labor Markets and Institutions, edition 1, volume 8, chapter 12, pages 383-410, Central Bank of Chile.
    5. Günther Rehme, 2007. "Education, Economic Growth and Measured Income Inequality," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(295), pages 493-514, August.
    6. Franzini, Maurizio & Raitano, Michele, 2019. "Earnings inequality and workers’ skills in Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 215-224.
    7. Lawrence F. Katz, 1994. "Active labor market policies to expand employment and opportunity," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Jan, pages 239-322.
    8. Fatih Guvenen & Burhanettin Kuruscu, 2010. "A Quantitative Analysis of the Evolution of the US Wage Distribution, 1970–2000," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2009, Volume 24, pages 227-276, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Tschopp, Jeanne, 2015. "The Wage Response to Shocks: The Role of Inter-Occupational Labour Adjustment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 28-37.
    10. Dennis J. Snower & Alessio J. G. Brown & Christian Merkl, 2009. "Globalization and the Welfare State: A Review of Hans-Werner Sinn's Can Germany Be Saved?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 136-158, March.
    11. Pupato, Germán, 2017. "Performance pay, trade and inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 478-504.
    12. James Spletzer & Elizabeth Weber Handwerker, 2015. "The Role of Establishments and the Concentration of Occupations in Wage Inequality," Working Papers id:7427, eSocialSciences.
    13. James P. Vere, 2005. "Wage Structure Effects of Taiwan's Science and Technology Development Policy," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 159-180, June.
    14. Sakurai, Kojiro, 2001. "Biased Technological Change and Japanese Manufacturing Employment," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 298-322, September.
    15. Sabine Engelmann, 2014. "International trade, technological change and wage inequality in the UK economy," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 41(2), pages 223-246, May.
    16. Philip Trostel & Ian Walker, 2006. "Education and Work," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 377-399.
    17. Karnit Flug & Zvi Hercowitz, 2000. "Equipment Investment and the Relative Demand for Skilled Labor: International Evidence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 3(3), pages 461-485, July.
    18. Adsera, Alicia & Boix, Carles, 2000. "Must we choose? European unemployment, American inequality, and the impact of education and labor market institutions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 611-638, November.
    19. Arai, Yoichi & Ichimura, Hidehiko & Kawaguchi, Daiji, 2015. "The educational upgrading of Japanese youth, 1982–2007: Are all Japanese youth ready for structural reforms?," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 100-126.
    20. John Dinardo & Thomas Lemieux, 1997. "Diverging Male Wage Inequality in the United States and Ganada, 1981–1988: Do Institutions Explain the Difference?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(4), pages 629-651, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:59:y:2005:i:1:p:119-140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.