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Author: Sylvester, Michelle Sheran
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1. Sylvester, Michelle Sheran
Career and Family Choices of Women: A Dynamic Analysis of Labor Force Participation, Schooling, Marriage,and Fertility Decisions
Working Paper, Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina - Greensboro, April 2003.
Also: http://www.uncg.edu/bae/people/sheran/sylvester.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina - Greensboro
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Career Patterns; Fertility; Labor Force Participation; Labor Supply; Marital Status; Marriage; Modeling; Religion; Schooling

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, I develop and estimate a dynamic, structural model of women's labor market participation, schooling, marriage, and fertility decisions. This work provides a framework in which to analyze the career and family decisions women make over their lifetimes. Estimates of the model indicate that the career and family decisions of women vary significantly over their observable characteristics including race, religion, age, and AFQT score, and strongly depend on the presence of children. For example, results indicate that while very young children have a bonding influence on marriage, older children strain marriage. Furthermore, mothers get more utility from using birth control than women without children. This work also identifies several important sources of duration and state dependence in women's choices over time. For instance, while increases in age, reflecting maturation, increase the utility flows from marriage, increases in marriage duration decrease the utility flows. Moreover, the non pecuniary benefits to entering the work force or reentering school after a period of absence outweigh the non pecuniary costs.
Bibliography Citation
Sylvester, Michelle Sheran. "Career and Family Choices of Women: A Dynamic Analysis of Labor Force Participation, Schooling, Marriage,and Fertility Decisions." Working Paper, Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina - Greensboro, April 2003.