An Economic Analysis of Female Work Participation, Education, and Fertility: Theory and Empirical Evidence for the Federal Republic of Germany

This paper summarizes some facts on female work in Germany and presents some recent econometric explorations. The econometric method adopted is the TOBIT procedure, which allows one to estimate labor supply functions including both hours worked and participation. The general finding is that it is necessary to distinguish among several groups of females: while work participation of young single women decreased substantially, married women have a higher participation rate today than in earlier years. In addition, income elasticities of labor supply and their decomposition are estimated but several caveats regarding these estimates are in order.