The postwar U.S. labor market has been characterized by steadily rising employment rates. An examination of the data suggests that two factors, namely demographic trends and increased female participation, have been largely responsible for this phenomenon; we focus on the latter factor. Within a...

Empirical studies of the consumption-wealth relationship often assume a framework in which aggregate household spending depends linearly on wealth, the underlying state variable. These studies have given rise to many estimates of the wealth effect. In a general equilibrium setting, however, both...