The employment of married mothers in Great Britain: 1974-2000

Gregg, Paul, Gutiérrez-Domènech, Maria and Waldfogel, Jane (2003) The employment of married mothers in Great Britain: 1974-2000. CEPDP (596). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK. ISBN 0753016745

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Abstract

This paper analyses the increase in mothers¿ employment in Britain over the period 1974¿2000. The approach consists of isolating those birth cohorts whose mothers experienced significant increases in employment and relating those to changes in policies (maternity rights, taxation and childcare). The results suggest that maternity rights have induced a change in behaviour, toward returning to work in the first year post-birth, among many mothers who would have otherwise gone back to work when their children were age 3 to 5. This effect has been most marked among better-educated and higher paid mothers and has strengthened as real wages have risen through time. However, the paper also suggests that the increased labour market experience and job tenure of mothers as a result of maternity rights legislation has only had a very modest impact on earnings. This is as a result of most of the extra experience being part-time which has very low returns.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk
Additional Information:	© 2003 the authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J10 - General
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2008 10:54
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 18:34
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/20014

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