Gender Differences in Employed Job Search: Why Do Women Search Less than Men?

Jeffrey J.  Yankow; Mary Jean  Horney

doi:10.4236/me.2013.47053

Jeffrey J. Yankow^*, Mary Jean Horney

Abstract: Using an extended panel from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this study explores the impact of marriage and children on the employed job search behavior of young workers. Estimation results from a bivariate probit model of employed job search that accounts for the selective nature of participation and employment demonstrate that both marriage and children significantly reduce the likelihood of on-the-job search for women but not for men. We find that married women with children have an employed search probability that is 18 percentage points below that of single women without children. Moreover, both the age and number of children present in the household are important determining factors for women in the decision to conduct on-the-job search. The inhibiting effect of children, however, is only pronounced for married women; single women with children are no less likely to search than single women without children.

Keywords: Gender Differences; Job Search; Marriage; Children

Cite this paper: J. Yankow and M. Horney, "Gender Differences in Employed Job Search: Why Do Women Search Less than Men?," Modern Economy, Vol. 4 No. 7, 2013, pp. 489-500. doi: 10.4236/me.2013.47053.

References

[1] J. P. Mattila, “Job Quitting and Frictional Unemployment,” American Economic Review, Vol. 64, No. 1, 1974, pp. 235-239.

[2] M. Black, “Pecuniary Implications of On-the-Job Search and Quit Activity,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 62, No. 2, 1980, pp. 222-229. doi:10.2307/1924748

[3] H. Holzer, “Job Search by Employed and Unemployed Youth,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 40, No. 4, 1987, pp. 601-611. doi:10.2307/2524061

[4] T. J. Devine and N. M. Kiefer, “Empirical Labor Economics: The Search Approach,” Oxford University Press, New York, 1991.

[5] K. Keith and A. McWilliams, “The Returns to Mobility and Job Search by Gender,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 52, No. 3, 1999, pp. 460-477. doi:10.2307/2525145

[6] M. Black, “An Empirical Test of the Theory of On-the-Job Search,” Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1981, pp. 129-140. doi:10.2307/145224

[7] D. O. Parsons, “The Job Search Behavior of Employed Youth,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 73, No. 4, 1991, pp. 597-604. doi:10.2307/2109398

[8] K. Keith and D. R. Williams, “A Note on Racial Differences in Employed Male Job Search,” Industrial Relations, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2002, pp. 422-429. doi:10.1111/1468-232X.00254

[9] A. J. Bowlus, “A Search Interpretation of Male-Female Wage Differentials,” Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 15, No. 4, 1997, pp. 625-657. doi:10.1086/209840

[10] A. J. Bowlus and L. Grogan, “Equilibrium Job Search and Gender Wage Differentials in the UK,” Working Paper, Department of Economics, McMaster University, 2001.

[11] K. Burdett, “A Theory of Employed Job Search and Quit Rates,” American Economic Review, Vol. 68, No. 1, 1978, pp. 212-220.

[12] W. P. M. M. van de Ven and B. M. S. van Praag, “The Demand for Deductibles in Private Health Insurance: A Probit Model with Sample Selection,” Journal of Econometrics, Vol. 17, No. 2, 1981, pp. 229-252. doi:10.1016/0304-4076(81)90028-2

[13] Stata Reference Manual, Release 11, Stata Press, College Station, Texas, 2009.

[14] D. Card, “Do Minimum Wages Reduce Employment?” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 46, No. 1, 1992, pp. 38-54. doi:10.2307/2524737

[15] J. Gruber, “The Incidence of Mandated Maternity Benefits,” American Economic Review, Vol. 84, No. 3, 1994, pp. 622-641.

[16] D. S. Hamermesh and S. J. Trejo, “The Demand for Hours of Labor: Direct Evidence from California,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2000, pp. 38-47. doi:10.1162/003465300558614

[17] J. L. Hotchkiss, “A Closer Look at the Employment Impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2004, pp. 887-911. doi:10.2307/3559031.