Search frictions make worker turnover costly to firms. A t hree-month parental l eave e xpansion in Sweden provides exogenous variation that we use to quantify firms' adjustment costs upon worker absence and exit. The reform increased women's leave duration and likelihood of separating from...

This paper uses matched individual-level data from the Current Population Survey to determine that around the 2008 recession, there was a significant upward shift in trend of the share of labor force leavers giving Schooling and Other as the reason for absence from the labor market. This trend...

Recent trends in the labor force participation of women have brought much public attention to the issue of women opting out. This paper explores the decision of working women to exit the labor market at a time of major transition - the birth of a child - utilizing linked vital statistics,...

The purpose of this paper is to explore the microfoundations of the observed asymmetric movement in aggregate unemployment rates. Using U.S. data, we find that individual labor force participation responds asymmetrically to changes in local labor market conditions, consistent with the pattern of...

We study the development of wage elasticity of labor supply for Austrian men and women over time using comparable and representative survey data for the 1980s and 1990s. The elasticity of men is relatively low and constant over time, similar to the behavior of single women. Most remarkable is...

This study analyzes the effect of all-day (AD) primary school programs on maternal labor supply. To account for AD school selectivity and selection into AD primary school programs I estimate bivariate probit models. To identify these models I exploit variation in the allocation of investments to...

This paper collects and reviews information about routes to retirement and exits from the labor force by older workers in Sweden. It gives a concise survey of rules of the major retirement schemes covering disability, sickness and unemployment. Usinglongitudinal micro data from the period...

East Germany underwent rapid transition from a socialist to a market economy since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We are interested in whether women are better off or worse off relative to men as a result of this transition. We use the German Socio-Economic Panel Data 1990-1997 to study wage...

The incidence of Cesarean deliveries (CDs) has been on the rise. The procedure's cost and benefits are discussed controversially; in particular, since non-medically indicated cases seem widespread. We study the effect of CDs on subsequent fertility and maternal labor supply. Identification is...

In this paper we provide a description of the labor market in the Netherlands. Compared to other OECD countries labor force participation is high and the unemployment rate is low (also for young workers). Among the unemployed there are, however, relatively many long-term unemployed workers....