Labor Supply and Marital Separation

Abstract

Panel data are used to estimate the effect of marital separation on labor supply. Female labor supply increases substantially and male labor supply declines marginally, lending support to the theory of specialization within the household. The most interesting finding is that women began to increase their labor supply well before the actualsplit occurs, suggesting either that shocks to labor supply change divorce probabilities or that women with a higher likelihood of divorcework more. This argument is pursued by constructing and estimating a simultaneous model of labor supply and divorce risk. Copyright 1986 by American Economic Association.