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Is Mothers Employment an Effective Means to Fight Family Poverty? Empirical Evidence from Seven European Countries

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  • Kristian Orsini
  • Antje Mertens
  • Felix Büchel

Abstract

Using data from the mid-1990s from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), we analyze for several household types the effect of mothers' work participation on families' relative income position and poverty risk. Results are compared across seven European countries with contrasting family policies: the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Finland. Findings based on traditional research designs first indicate a strong positive effect of mothers labor market participation on families' income situation in almost all countries and family types. By applying selectivity models, however, we show that a substantial part of this positive effect is caused by the fact that mothers in employment are a positively selected group. This implies that continuing policy measures to expand mothers' labor market participation - which are, nevertheless, strongly recommended - are likely to become less efficient as the work participation of mothers increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristian Orsini & Antje Mertens & Felix Büchel, 2003. "Is Mothers Employment an Effective Means to Fight Family Poverty? Empirical Evidence from Seven European Countries," LIS Working papers 363, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:363
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruce D. Meyer & Dan T. Rosenbaum, 2001. "Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 1063-1114.
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    6. 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.
    7. Timothy Smeeding & David Jesuit, 2002. "Poverty and Income Distribution," LIS Working papers 293, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anita Haataja & Anita Nyberg, 2005. "Did the dual-earner model become stronger or weaker in Finland and Sweden in the 1990s?," LIS Working papers 414, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    2. Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung & Wai-Sum Chan & Kee-Lee Chou, 2019. "Material Deprivation and Working Poor in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 39-66, August.
    3. Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung & Kee-Lee Chou, 2016. "Working Poor in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 317-335, October.

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