TY  - JOUR
AU  - Heckman,James J.
AU  - Willis,Robert J.
TI  - A Beta-Logistic Model for the Analysis of Sequential Labor Force Participation by Married Women
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 112
PY  - 1975
Y2  - November 1975
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w0112
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w0112.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
James J. Heckman
Department of Economics
The University of Chicago
1126 E. 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/702-0634
Fax: 773/702-8490
E-Mail: jjh@uchicago.edu

Robert J. Willis
3254 ISR
University of Michigan
P. O. Box 1248
426 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Tel: 734/936-0314
E-Mail: rjwillis@isr.umich.edu
AB  - In this paper, we discuss statistical problems that arise in studying sequences of quantal responses (e.g., labor force participation) in panel data on heterogeneous populations (i.e., populations in which there is unobserved variation in response probabilities). Assuming that response probabilities are governed by a beta distribution, we derive a generalization of the cross-section logit model to enable it to deal with sequences of discrete events in panel data. This model is applied to panel data on labor force participation of married women. One of our findings is that the distribution of participation probabilities is U-shaped, indicating that most women have participation probabilities near zero or one.
ER  -