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Locus of Control and Mothers’ Return to Employment

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  • Eva M. Berger

    (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)

  • Luke Haywood

    (DIW Berlin (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung))

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of locus of control (LOC) on the length of mothers’ employment break after childbirth. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), duration data reveals that women with an internal LOC return to employment more quickly than women with an external LOC.We ?nd that this effect is particularly pronounced in jobs in which the penalties in terms of lower wage growth are highest. We thus argue that the effect of LOC on return is mainly related to differential appreciation of the career costs of longer maternity leave.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva M. Berger & Luke Haywood, 2016. "Locus of Control and Mothers’ Return to Employment," Working Papers 1614, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, revised 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:1614
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    Cited by:

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    2. Juliane Hennecke, 2024. "The independent woman—locus of control and female labor force participation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 329-357, March.
    3. Xue, Sen & Kidd, Michael P. & Le, Anh T. & Kirk, Kathy & Martin, Nicholas G., 2019. "The Role of Locus of Control in Education, Occupation, Income and Healthy Habits: Evidence from Australian Twins," GLO Discussion Paper Series 371, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Gong, Xiaodong & Zhu, Rong, 2019. "Cognitive abilities, non-cognitive skills, and gambling behaviors," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 51-69.
    5. Xue, Sen & Kidd, Michael P. & Le, Anh.T. & Kirk, Kathy & Martin, Nicholas G., 2020. "The role of locus of control in adulthood outcomes: Evidence from Australian twins," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 566-588.
    6. Preuss, Malte & Hennecke, Juliane, 2018. "Biased by success and failure: How unemployment shapes locus of control," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 63-74.
    7. Juliane Hennecke, 2020. "Locus of Control and Female Labor Force Participation," Working Papers 2020-03, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Locus of Control; Noncognitive Skills; Personality; Maternal Employment; Female Labor Supply; Survival Analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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