Participation of Greek married women in full-time paid employment

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the static labor supply behavior of married women in Greece using micro data from the National Household Budget Survey of 1998/99. To that end, a conventional Probit model is employed for the estimation of the participation decision; a typical OLS regression corrected for selectivity bias is used for the estimation of the wage equation; and, a Tobit procedure is utilized for the estimation of the labor supply function. The econometric results confirm the presence of a sample selection criterion that separates working from non-working married women. The labor force participation decision is affected by the presence of children, human capital characteristics, region of residence, husbands' earnings and non-work income. The same factors appear to influence, in a plausible manner, the hours of work decision. Moreover, the labor supply elasticity with respect to the hourly wage is about 0.84 (calculated at the sample means). Finally, human capital variables such as education and age appear to explain adequately the observed wage structure of Greek married women.