TY  - JOUR
AU  - Blank,Rebecca M.
TI  - The Dynamics of Part-Time Work
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4911
PY  - 1994
Y2  - November 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4911
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4911.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Rebecca M. Blank
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 4848
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20230
Tel: 202-482-3727
Fax: 202-482-0432
E-Mail: rblank@doc.gov
AB  - This paper uses 14 years of data from the PSID to explore dynamic labor supply choices among adult women between full-time, part-time, or no labor market work.  A variety of models indicate that past choices should be important in predicting current labor supply choices.  This paper compares the effectiveness of several estimation strategies which require more or less historical information.  The results indicate that past history in labor supply choices among adult women is very important in predicting current labor supply; given the lack of such data in many cases, the paper explores how much is lost when limited or no longitudinal information is available.  In addition, the paper explores the substantive question of the role of part-time work in the labor market.  Part-time workers are a very heterogeneous group; different part-time workers are in the midst of very different labor supply patterns.  Most women use part-time work as a temporary alternative to full-time work or to being out of the labor market; few women use it as a transitional step into full-time employment.  Simulations suggest the potential impact on future labor supply of mandating that low-skilled women who are out of the labor market enter part-time work.
ER  -