Job displacement, family dynamics and spousal labor supply

Arbeitspapier

We study the effectiveness of intra-household insurance among married couples when the husband loses his job due to a mass layoff or plant closure. Empirical results based on Austrian administrative data show that husbands suffer persistent employment and earnings losses, while wives' labor supply increases moderately due to extensive margin responses. Wives' earnings gains recover only a tiny fraction of the household income loss and, in the short-term, public transfers and taxes are a more important form of insurance. We show that the presence of children in the household is a crucial determinant of the wives' labor supply response.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 1816

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Household Behavior and Family Economics: Other ; Time Allocation and Labor Supply ; Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
• Subject: Firm Events ; Household Labor Supply ; Intra-household Insurance ; Added Worker Effect

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Halla, Martin ; Schmieder, Julia ; Weber, Andrea
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Department of Economics
• (where): Linz
• (when): 2018

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/207111
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET