The Missing Men. World War I and Female Labor Force Participation

Jörn Boehnke and Victor Gay ()
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Jörn Boehnke: UC Davis - University of California [Davis] - UC - University of California, UC Davis - University of California [Davis] - UC - University of California

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Abstract: Using spatial variation in World War I military fatalities in France, we show that the scarcity of men due to the war generated an upward shift in female labor force participation that persisted throughout the interwar period. Available data suggest that increased female labor supply accounts for this result. In particular, deteriorated marriage market conditions for single women and negative income shocks to war widows induced many of these women to enter the labor force after the war. In contrast, demand factors such as substitution toward female labor to compensate for the scarcity of male labor were of second-order importance.

Keywords: Economic history; World War I; Economics; Female labor force participation; Sex ratio; Marriage market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-his
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02523127v3
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Journal of Human Resources, 2022, 57 (4), pp.1209-1241. ⟨10.3368/jhr.57.4.0419-10151R1⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Missing Men: World War I and Female Labor Force Participation (2022)
Working Paper: The Missing Men: World War I and Female Labor Force Participation (2020)
Working Paper: The Missing Men: World War I and Female Labor Force Participation (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02523127

DOI: 10.3368/jhr.57.4.0419-10151R1

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