IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwsop/diw_sp247.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Willingness to Pay for Job Amenities: Evidence from Mothers' Return to Work

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Felfe

Abstract

This study is the first to estimate mothers' marginal willingness to pay (MWP) for job amenities directly. Its identification strategy relies on German maternity leave length. The key aspect of the maternal leave framework is that mothers can decide whether and when to return to their guaranteed job. Thus, in contrast to previous studies that analyze the job search of employed workers, this framework allows us to overcome the limitation of not observing the wage/amenity offer process. A theoretical model of the leave length decision is derived from a random utility approach. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Qualification and Career Survey, this model is estimated by a discrete duration method. The MWP for amenities can be inferred through the estimated elasticities of the leave length with respect to the amenities and the wage. The results provide evidence that mothers are willing to sacrifice a significant fraction of their wage to reduce hazards (20%) and to enjoy a flexible working schedule (44-56%).

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Felfe, 2009. "The Willingness to Pay for Job Amenities: Evidence from Mothers' Return to Work," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 247, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.344909.de/diw_sp0247.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heckman, James & Singer, Burton, 1984. "A Method for Minimizing the Impact of Distributional Assumptions in Econometric Models for Duration Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 271-320, March.
    2. Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Spells," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 757-782, July.
    3. Duncan, Greg J & Holmlund, Bertil, 1983. "Was Adam Smith Right after All? Another Test of the Theory of Compensating Wage Differentials," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 366-379, October.
    4. StÈphane Bonhomme & GrÈgory Jolivet, 2009. "The pervasive absence of compensating differentials," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 763-795.
    5. Massimiliano Bratti & Emilia Del Bono & Daniela Vuri, 2005. "New Mothers’ Labour Force Participation in Italy: The Role of Job Characteristics," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(s1), pages 79-121, December.
    6. Thomas DeLeire & Helen Levy, 2004. "Worker Sorting and the Risk of Death on the Job," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 925-954, October.
    7. Ch. LAUER & A.M. WEBER, 2003. "Employment of Mothers after Childbirth : A French-German Comparison," Working Papers ERMES 0309, ERMES, University Paris 2.
    8. Hwang, Hae-shin & Mortensen, Dale T & Reed, W Robert, 1998. "Hedonic Wages and Labor Market Search," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 815-847, October.
    9. Lucas, Robert E B, 1977. "Hedonic Wage Equations and Psychic Wages in the Returns to Schooling," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(4), pages 549-558, September.
    10. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:641-692 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    12. Han, Aaron & Hausman, Jerry A, 1990. "Flexible Parametric Estimation of Duration and Competing Risk Models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, January-M.
    13. Ernesto Villanueva, 2007. "Estimating Compensating Wage Differentials Using Voluntary Job Changes: Evidence from Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(4), pages 544-561, July.
    14. Timothy J. Gronberg & W. Robert Reed, 1994. "Estimating Workers' Marginal Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes Using Duration Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(3), pages 911-931.
    15. Christina Felfe, 2008. "The Child Penalty - What about Job Amenities?," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2008 2008-22, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    16. Jan Ondrich & C. Spiess & Qing Yang & Gert Wagner, 2003. "The Liberalization of Maternity Leave Policy and the Return to Work after Childbirth in Germany," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 77-110, January.
    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. Drasch, Katrin & Abraham, Martin, 2019. "Compensating wage differentials and the labor market re-entry of mothers: Evidence from a factorial survey," SocArXiv vap6x, Center for Open Science.
    2. Mari, Gabriele, 2020. "Working-time flexibility is (not the same) for all: Evidence from a right-to-request reform," SocArXiv bnp9r, Center for Open Science.
    3. Yu‐Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2010. "Booms, Recessions And Financial Turmoil: A Fresh Look At Investment Decisions Under Cyclical Uncertainty," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 57(3), pages 290-317, July.
    4. Schnabel Claus, 2016. "United, Yet Apart? A Note on Persistent Labour Market Differences between Western and Eastern Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 157-179, March.
    5. Petreski, Marjan. & Mojsoska-Blazevski, Nikica., 2015. "The gender and motherhood wage gap in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia : an econometric analysis," ILO Working Papers 994895293402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Bachmann, Ronald & Stepanyan, Gayane, 2020. "It's a woman's world? Occupational structure and the rise of female employment in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 889, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Matteo Picchio & Claudia Pigini & Stefano Staffolani & Alina Verashchagina, 2021. "If not now, when? The timing of childbirth and labor market outcomes," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(6), pages 663-685, September.
    8. Jelena Zarkovic Rakic & Marko Vladisavljevic & Jorge Davalos, 2019. "The Effects of Austerity Measures on Gender Gaps in Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers PMMA 2019-02, PEP-PMMA.
    9. Gafni Dalit & Siniver Erez, 2015. "Is There a Motherhood Wage Penalty for Highly Skilled Women?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(3), pages 1353-1380, July.
    10. Geraci, Andrea & L. Bryan, Mark, 2016. "Non-standard work: what’s it worth? Comparing alternative measures of workers’ marginal willingness to pay," ISER Working Paper Series 2016-12, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Jason Sockin, 2022. "Show Me the Amenity: Are Higher-Paying Firms Better All Around?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9842, CESifo.
    12. Fang, Tony & Lee, Byron & Timming, Andrew R. & Fan, Di, 2019. "The Effects of Work-Life Benefits on Employment Outcomes in Canada: A Multivariate Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Azar, Sana & Khan, Aamir & Van Eerde, Wendelien, 2018. "Modelling linkages between flexible work arrangements' use and organizational outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 134-143.
    14. V. Joseph Hotz & Per Johansson & Arizo Karimi, 2017. "Parenthood, Family Friendly Workplaces, and the Gender Gaps in Early Work Careers," NBER Working Papers 24173, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Sam Desiere & Christian Walker, 2023. "The Shift Premium: Evidence From A Discrete Choice Experiment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 23/1074, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    16. Gafni Dalit & Siniver Erez, 2018. "The Motherhood Penalty: Is It a Wage-Dependent Family Decision?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, October.
    17. Stockton, Isabel & Bergemann, Annette & Brunow, Stephan, 2016. "There And Back Again: Women's Marginal Commuting Costs," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145919, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Bünning, Mareike & Pollmann-Schult, Matthias, 2016. "Parenthood, child care, and nonstandard work schedules in Europe," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(4), pages 295-314.

    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. Felfe, Christina, 2012. "The motherhood wage gap: What about job amenities?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 59-67.
    2. Stockton, Isabel & Bergemann, Annette & Brunow, Stephan, 2016. "There And Back Again: Women's Marginal Commuting Costs," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145919, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Minhaj Mahmud & Italo A Gutierrez & Krishna B Kumar & Shanthi Nataraj, 2021. "What Aspects of Formality Do Workers Value? Evidence from a Choice Experiment in Bangladesh," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(2), pages 303-327.
    4. StÈphane Bonhomme & GrÈgory Jolivet, 2009. "The pervasive absence of compensating differentials," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 763-795.
    5. Haywood, Luke, 2016. "Wealth effects on job preferences," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 38, pages 1-11.
    6. Usui, Emiko, 2009. "Wages, non-wage characteristics, and predominantly male jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 52-63, January.
    7. Nicole Maestas & Kathleen J. Mullen & David Powell & Till von Wachter & Jeffrey B. Wenger, 2023. "The Value of Working Conditions in the United States and the Implications for the Structure of Wages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(7), pages 2007-2047, July.
    8. Ernesto Villanueva, 2004. "Compensating wage differentials and voluntary job changes: Evidence from West Germany," Economics Working Papers 738, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    9. Christina Felfe, 2008. "Return to Work - Mothers' Willingness to Pay for Job Amenities," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2008 2008-25, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    10. Kumar, Krishna B. & Mahmud, Minhaj & Nataraj, Shanthi & Cho, Yoon Y., 2019. "Employer and Employee Preferences for Worker Benefits: Evidence from a Matched Survey on the Bangladesh Informal Sector," IZA Discussion Papers 12064, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Wells, Robert, 2010. "An examination of the utility bearing characteristics of occupations: A factor analytical approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 296-298, September.
    12. Elena Casquel & Antoni Cunyat, "undated". "The Welfare Cost of Business Cycles in an Economy with Nonclearing Markets," Working Papers 2005-19, FEDEA.
    13. Giovanni Russo & Jos Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2012. "The university workers’ willingness to pay for commuting," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(6), pages 1121-1132, November.
    14. Nikolaos Georgantzis & Efi Vasileiou, 2014. "Are Dangerous Jobs Paid Better? European Evidence," Research in Labor Economics, in: New Analyses of Worker Well-Being, volume 38, pages 163-192, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    15. Han, Seungjin & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2015. "Compensating wage differentials in stable job matching equilibrium," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 36-45.
    16. Damien Échevin & Bernard Fortin, 2011. "Physician Payment Mechanisms, Hospital Length of Stay and Risk of Readmission: a Natural Experiment," CIRANO Working Papers 2011s-44, CIRANO.
    17. Ando, Amy, 1998. "Delay on the Path to the Endangered Species List: Do Costs and Benefits Matter," RFF Working Paper Series dp-97-43-rev, Resources for the Future.
    18. Sungwon Lee & Joon H. Ro, 2020. "Nonparametric Tests for Conditional Quantile Independence with Duration Outcomes," Working Papers 2013, Nam Duck-Woo Economic Research Institute, Sogang University (Former Research Institute for Market Economy).
    19. Desiere, Sam & Walter, Christian, 2023. "The Shift Premium: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 16460, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. John Haltiwanger & Russell Cooper & Laura Power, 1999. "Machine Replacement and the Business Cycle: Lumps and Bumps," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 921-946, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marginal Willingness to Pay; Maternal Labor Supply; Discrete Duration Models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Lists

    This item is featured on the following reading lists, Wikipedia, or ReplicationWiki pages:
    1. SOEP based publications

    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:diw:diwsop:diw_sp247. 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: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sodiwde.html .

    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.