IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurpop/v20y2004i4d10.1007_s10680-004-5302-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Increases in Female Labour Force Participation in Europe: Similarities and Differences

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Dirk Vlasblom

    (Utrecht University)

  • Joop J. Schippers

    (Utrecht University)

Abstract

Low educational levels and the effect of children are recognized as the most important factors for low female participation rates. Over the last decades female labour supply in Europe has shown a large increase. This may be related to changes in the level of education or fertility. It is also possible that it is due to changes in behaviour, as influenced by the social and institutional context. Our results show that increases in the participation rates cannot be explained by changes in either educational level nor in the number and timing of children. Female labour supply increases at all educational levels for women with and without children. In other words, it is mainly changes in behaviour that drive the increase in participation rates over the last decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Dirk Vlasblom & Joop J. Schippers, 2004. "Increases in Female Labour Force Participation in Europe: Similarities and Differences," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 20(4), pages 375-392, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:20:y:2004:i:4:d:10.1007_s10680-004-5302-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-004-5302-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10680-004-5302-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10680-004-5302-0?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joshi, Heather & Macran, Susan & Dex, Shirley, 1996. "Employment after Childbearing and Women's Subsequent Labour Force Participation: Evidence from the British 1958 Birth Cohort," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 9(3), pages 325-348, August.
    2. Gustafsson, Siv, 1992. "Separate Taxation and Married Women's Labor Supply: A Comparison of West Germany and Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 61-85, February.
    3. Henry Ohlsson & Michael Lundholm, 1998. "Wages, taxes and publicly provided day care," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 185-204.
    4. Dankmeyer, Ben, 1996. "Long Run Opportunity-Costs of Children According to Education of the Mother in the Netherlands," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 9(3), pages 349-361, August.
    5. repec:ucp:bkecon:9789053560457 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Jan Dirk Vlasblom & Peter De Gijsel & Jacques Siegers, 2001. "Taxes, female labour supply and household income: differences between the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 735-744.
    7. Ron Lesthaeghe & Paul Willems, 1999. "Is Low Fertility a Temporary Phenomenon in the European Union?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 25(2), pages 211-228, June.
    8. Heather Joshi & Shirley Dex & Susan Macran, 1996. "Employment after childbearing and women`s subsequent labour force participation: Evidence from the British 1958 birth cohort," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 9(3), pages 325-348.
    9. Kène Henkens & Yolanda Grift & Jacques Siegers, 2002. "Changes in Female Labour Supply in the Netherlands 1989–1998: The Case of Married and Cohabiting Women," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 39-57, March.
    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. Amaia Altuzarra & Catalina Gálvez-Gálvez & Ana González-Flores, 2019. "Economic Development and Female Labour Force Participation: The Case of European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Charlie Karlsson & Martin Andersson & Therese Norman (ed.), 2015. "Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Economic Geography," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14395.
    3. Marleen Damman & Kène Henkens & Matthijs Kalmijn, 2015. "Women’s Retirement Intentions and Behavior: The Role of Childbearing and Marital Histories," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 339-363, October.
    4. Ajide Folorunsho M., 2021. "Financial Inclusion and Labour Market Participation of Women in Selected Countries in Africa," Economics and Culture, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 15-31, June.
    5. Fuchs, Johann & Söhnlein, Doris, 2007. "Einflussfaktoren auf das Erwerbspersonenpotenzial : Demografie und Erwerbsverhalten in Ost- und Westdeutschland," IAB-Discussion Paper 200712, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    6. repec:elg:eechap:14395_28 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Omotoso, Kehinde O. & Obembe, Olufemi B., 2016. "Does household technology influence female labour force participation in Nigeria?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 78-82.
    8. Mondolo, Jasmine, 2020. "Macro and microeconomic evidence on investment, factor shares, firm and labor dynamics in Italy and in Trentino," MPRA Paper 99138, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp44 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink & Jocelyn E. Finlay, 2010. "The Cost of Low Fertility in Europe [Le coût de la basse fécondité en Europe]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 141-158, May.
    11. Ali Saleh Alarussi & Eng Zhi Yen, 2023. "The Impact of Population Aging on Economic Growthin Asian Countries," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 33-53.
    12. Arnstein Aassve & Bruno Arpino & Alice Goisis, 2012. "Grandparenting and mothers’ labour force participation: A comparative analysis using the Generations and Gender Survey," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(3), pages 53-84.
    13. Didier Fouarge & Anna Manzoni & Ruud Muffels & Ruud Luijkx, 2010. "Childbirth and cohort effects on mothers' labour supply: a comparative study using life history data for Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(3), pages 487-507, September.
    14. Inge Noback & Lourens Broersma & Jouke van Dijk, 2011. "Gender-specific dynamics in working hours," ERSA conference papers ersa11p1308, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Yew Seng Law & Chung-Khain Wye, 2023. "The effects of fertility on female labour force participation in OECD countries: the role of education and health," Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 280-302, July.
    16. An Liu & Inge Noback, 2011. "Determinants of regional female labour market participation in the Netherlands," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 47(3), pages 641-658, December.

    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. J.D. Vlasblom & J.J. Schippers, 2004. "Increases in Female Labour Force Participation in Europe: Similarities and Differences," Working Papers 04-12, Utrecht School of Economics.
    2. S. C. Noah Uhrig & Nicole Watson, 2020. "The Impact of Measurement Error on Wage Decompositions: Evidence From the British Household Panel Survey and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 49(1), pages 43-78, February.
    3. Kitty Stewart, 2007. "Employment trajectories for mothers in low-skilled work: Evidence from the British Lone Parent Cohort," CASE Papers case122, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    4. Solera, Cristina, 2008. "Combining marriage and children with paid work: changes across cohorts in Italy and Great Britain," ISER Working Paper Series 2008-22, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    5. Ludovica Gambaro & Jan Marcus & Frauke Peter, 2019. "School entry, afternoon care, and mothers’ labour supply," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 769-803, September.
    6. Hina Amber & Bezawit Beyene Chichaibelu, 2023. "Patterns and Causes of Female Labor Force Participation: An Age–Period–Cohort Analysis for Pakistan," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-31, April.
    7. Annarita Macchioni Giaquinto, 2022. "The power of the (red) pill in Europe: pharmaceutical innovation and female empowerment," Working Papers 2022:09, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    8. Jan Dirk Vlasblom & Joop Schippers, 2006. "Changing dynamics in female employment around childbirth," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 20(2), pages 329-347, June.
    9. Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2009. "Accommodating Families," Chapters, in: Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt & Seth D. Harris & Orly Lobel (ed.), Labor and Employment Law and Economics, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Eva Schlenker, 2009. "Frauen als Stille Reserve im Ingenieurwesen," Diskussionspapiere aus dem Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Hohenheim 315/2009, Department of Economics, University of Hohenheim, Germany.
    11. repec:cep:sticas:/122 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Brian C. O'Neill & Deborah Balk & Melanie Brickman & Markos Ezra, 2001. "A Guide to Global Population Projections," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 4(8), pages 203-288.
    13. Svenja G rtner, 2013. "German Stagnation vs. Swedish Progression: Gender Wage Gaps in Comparison, 1960-2006," LIS Working papers 586, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    14. James Raymo & Marcia Carlson & Alicia VanOrman & Sojung Lim & Brienna Perelli-Harris & Miho Iwasawa, 2015. "Educational differences in early childbearing," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(3), pages 65-92.
    15. Sheree Gibb & David Fergusson & L. Horwood & Joseph Boden, 2014. "The Effects of Parenthood on Workforce Participation and Income for Men and Women," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 14-26, March.
    16. d'Albis, Hippolyte & Greulich, Angela & Ponthiere, Gregory, 2018. "Development, fertility and childbearing age: A Unified Growth Theory," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 461-494.
    17. Isis Gaddis & Stephan Klasen, 2014. "Economic development, structural change, and women’s labor force participation:," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 639-681, July.
    18. Schäfer, Andreas, 2014. "Technological change, population dynamics, and natural resource depletion," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 122-136.
    19. Eva Sierminska, 2004. "Female Income Differentials and Social Benefits: A Four Country Comparison," LIS Working papers 377, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    20. Rob Euwals & Marike Knoef & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "The trend in female labour force participation: what can be expected for the future?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 729-753, May.
    21. Mauro Mastrogiacomo & Nicole M. Bosch & Miriam D. A. C. Gielen & Egbert L. W. Jongen, 2017. "Heterogeneity in Labour Supply Responses: Evidence from a Major Tax Reform," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(5), pages 769-796, October.

    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:spr:eurpop:v:20:y:2004:i:4:d:10.1007_s10680-004-5302-0. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.