Estimation of a Simultaneous Model of Married Women's Labor Force Participation and Fertility in Urban Japan

36 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2004 Last revised: 23 Sep 2022

See all articles by Tadashi Yamada

Tadashi Yamada

University of Tsukuba - Institute of Socio-Economic Planning; NBER

Tetsuji Yamada

Rutgers University, Camden, Camden College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics; NBER

Date Written: June 1984

Abstract

A strong and negative correlation between married women's labor force participation and fertility has been witnessed in Japan in past decades. Relative to empirical studies of a traditional single equation on female labor supply, there exist few econometric studies dealing explicitly witha possible interdependency between married women's labor supply and fertility behaviors in urban Japan. Using the recently published 1980 Population Census of Japan, we have estimated a simultaneous-equation model of married women's labor force participation and fertility in urban Japan. Our model shows very satisfactory results to explain the negative correlation between those variables based on a method of 2SLS. Estimated labor supply elasticities for married women with respect to their fertility rates, wife's labor earnings, and male labor earnings are -0.67, 0.23, and -1.76 at the sample means, respectively. On the other hand, estimated elasticities of fertility with respect to married women's labor force participation and family income are -0.31 and 0.23, respectively. We find some of these elasticities for Japanese married women very comparable to those of married women in the United States.

Suggested Citation

Yamada, Tadashi and Yamada, Tetsuji, Estimation of a Simultaneous Model of Married Women's Labor Force Participation and Fertility in Urban Japan (June 1984). NBER Working Paper No. w1362, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=324007

Tadashi Yamada

University of Tsukuba - Institute of Socio-Economic Planning ( email )

Tennodai 1-1-1
Tsukuba Ibaraki-ken 305
Japan

NBER

365 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10016-4309
United States

Tetsuji Yamada (Contact Author)

Rutgers University, Camden, Camden College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics ( email )

Department of Economics
Camden, NJ 08102
United States

NBER

365 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10016-4309
United States

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