Year: 2009
Type: report
Abstract: The entry of married women into the labor force is one of the most notable economic phenomena of the twentieth century.We argue that medical progress played a critical role in this process.Improved maternal health alleviated the adverse effects of pregnancy and childbirth on women's ability to work, while the introduction of infant formula reduced mothers' comparative advantage in infant feeding.We construct economic measures of these two dimensions of medical progress and develop a quantitative model that aims to capture their impact.Our results suggests that these advances, by enabling women to reconcile work and motherhood, were essential for the rise in married women's participation and the evolution of their economic role.
DOI: 10.3386/w14873
Authors: Stefania Albanesi, Claudia Olivetti
Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Columbia University
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W4300547256