Cover: The Sensitivity of Male Labor Supply Estimates to Choice of Assumptions

The Sensitivity of Male Labor Supply Estimates to Choice of Assumptions

by Julie DaVanzo, Dennis N. De Tray, David H. Greenberg

Purchase

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback30 pages $20.00 $16.00 20% Web Discount

Summarizes the major results of R-1372, Estimating Labor Supply Responses: A Sensitivity Analysis, using several competing methodologies to analyze the traditional labor supply model. A step-by-step exploration of alternative labor supply estimating equations attempts to identify the independent (marginal) effect of each change in the form of these equations. Analysis is restricted to married white male family heads of prime labor force age (25 to 54), and uses data from the Survey of Economic Opportunity. Results indicate that labor supply parameters estimated with cross-sectional data are highly dependent on the assumptions that researchers must make in constructing wage and asset variables, specifying the labor supply equation, and choosing the sample. Of special importance is the inclusion or exclusion of nonworkers in the sample, and of education in the equation. Until a firmer basis exists for resolving important methodological issues, only limited confidence can be placed in labor supply estimates based on nonexperimental data. (For publication in Review of Economics and Statistics.)

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.