Married women labour supply: a comparative analysis.

In this paper we use a comparable data set from fourteen European countries to analyze labor supply decisions by married women. We focus on the role of the family financial conditions and family benefits. Our approach consists on a generalized selectivity model, in which we take account of the link between participation and labor supply decicisions, although, contrarily to the tobit model, we allow the determinants for these two interrelated decisions to be different. Concerning the decision on labor force participation, we find a positive effect of education, and a strong disincentive due to children, particularly enfants. In addition, the financial requirements that mortgage debt imposes on households suppose a positive and significant effect on the participation decision. With regard to the labor supply equation, the data reject the constraints of the tobit model in favor of the generalized selectitivity model. Furthermore, we find a large heterogeneity in the the elasticity of working hours with respect to both wages and income, what points out that flexibility in hours adjustment is expected to differ very much among countries.