Analysis of the 1980 Sydney Survey of Work Patterns of Married Women: Further Results

Abstract

Using cross section data from the 1980 Sydney Survey of the work patterns of married women, this paper contributes to the very scarce Australian stock of disaggregate econometric studies of the labour market activities of married women. Labour force participation, hours of work and wage (reservation wage as well as market wage) functions are estimated in a second generation static labour supply framework. Unique features of the study include the availability of direct data on previous market experience, a formulation of the impact of children on the participation decision which permits testing for the presence of economies of scale in child minding activities, estimation of the reservation wage function, and a data base which permits a clear distinction between earnings and other forms of income.