Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Using the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) longitudinal data, I examine the relationship between wives’ earnings relative to their husbands and labor force exits among married mothers with children under age 15. I find that primary provider wives are more likely to exit the labor force than equal earner wives. However, an interaction with other family income reveals that the relationship between the wife’s relative earnings and labor force exits varies, suggesting that at very high income levels where wives are the primary earners—where one might expect very low exit rates—exit rates are no lower, indeed may be somewhat higher, than for primary earners with somewhat lower family income.