The Opt-Out Revolution: A Descriptive Analysis

Heather Antecol ()
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Heather Antecol: Claremont McKenna College

No 5089, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Census, I find little support for the opt-out revolution – highly educated women, relative to their less educated counterparts, are exiting the labor force to care for their families at higher rates today than in earlier time periods – if one focuses solely on the decision to work a positive number of hours irrespective of marital status or race. If one, however, focuses on both the decision to work a positive number of hours as well as the decision to adjust annual hours of work (conditional on working), I find some evidence of the opt-out revolution, particularly among white college educated married women in male dominated occupations.

Keywords: female labor supply; extensive/intensive margin; opting out; race/ethnicity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J15 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2010-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published in: Research in Labor Economics, 2011, 33, 45-83

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