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Work or housework? Mincer’s hypothesis and the labor supply elasticity of married women in Japan

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  • Kiho Muroga

    (The University of Tokyo)

Abstract

Married women exhibit more elastic labor supply responses to wage changes than do single women or men. Mincer (Aspects of labor economics, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1962) argued that this is explained by a high elasticity of substitution between market work and home production. To test this hypothesis, I use a sharp change in Japanese tax rates to estimate labor supply and home production elasticities for Japanese workers. The results support Mincer's hypothesis: market and home production are near-perfect substitutes for married Japanese women, while home production effects are modest for other demographic groups. These results contrast with those for the USA, where male and female elasticities have been converging.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiho Muroga, 2020. "Work or housework? Mincer’s hypothesis and the labor supply elasticity of married women in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 303-347, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecrev:v:71:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s42973-019-00017-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s42973-019-00017-8
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female labor force participation; Time allocation; Labor supply elasticity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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