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Spousal Tax Deduction, Social Security System and the Labor Supply of Japanese Married Women

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Abstract

Japanese spousal tax deduction and social security system cause a piecewise linear and discontinuous budget constraint for a married woman. Using a sample from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, we estimate a labor supply model that simultaneously controls for wage endogeneity, sample selection into labor force as well as the possibly endogenous selection between different segments of the non-linear budget constraint. The effects of tax and social security system on the labor supply behavior of married women are more complex than the previous literature has pointed out. In particular, there are notable differences in the labor supply behavior of women who choose different segments of the budget constraint. The wage elasticity of women in the budget segment I (annual income less than the "1.03 million yen ceiling") is twice more negative (-1.28) than women in the budget segment III (annual income greater than the "1.41 million yen ceiling") (-0.60). The wage elasticity smaller than -1 for the budget segment I suggests that these women may be adjusting their hours of work so as to contain their income within the 1.03 million yen ceiling. Education has a positive effect on the hours of work for the budget segment III, but has no effect for the segment I. Unlike the budget segment III, the positive effect of education on wage is non-existent for the women in the budget segment I, indicating an under-utilization of the human capital of women who have chosen to be dependent on the husbands' income on the tax and social security purposes.

Suggested Citation

  • Shingo Takahashi & Masumi Kawade & Ryuta Ray Kato, 2009. "Spousal Tax Deduction, Social Security System and the Labor Supply of Japanese Married Women," Working Papers EMS_2009_16, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    • Handle: RePEc:iuj:wpaper:ems_2009_16
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Jun Ando, 2021. "Wives’ gender identity, work hours, employment status, and life satisfaction: evidence from Japan," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 103-124, February.
    3. YOKOYAMA, Izumi & 横山, 泉, 2015. "The Impact of Tax Reform in Japan on the Work-Hour and Income Distributions of Married Women," Discussion Papers 2015-02, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.

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    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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