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Home Computers and Married Women's Labor Supply

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  • Alexander C. Lembcke

Abstract

I consider how the availability of a personal computer at home changed employment for married women. I develop a theoretical model that motivates the empirical specifications. Using data from the U.S. CPS from 1984 to 2003, I find that employment is 1.5 to 7 percentage points higher for women in households with a computer. The model predicts that the increase in employment is driven by higher wages. I find having a computer at home is associated with higher wages, and employment in more computer intensive occupations, which is consistent with the model. Decomposing the changes by educational attainment shows that both women with low levels of education (high school diploma or less) and women with the highest levels of education (Master's degree or more) have high returns from home computers

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander C. Lembcke, 2014. "Home Computers and Married Women's Labor Supply," CEP Discussion Papers dp1260, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1260
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Married womens labor supply; computer skills and labor supply; US CPS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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