Working Wives and the Family Life Cycle

The concept of the "family life cycle" provides a valuable context within which to study labor force participation of married womem. This article tests the hypothesis that the process by which wives make the decision to supply labor to the market varies with position in that life cycle. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Education and Labor Market Experiences of Young Women are used in an examination of market activity during the early stages of the cycle, from marriage through the completion of childbearing. The effects of the most important determinants of married women's labor force involvement are found to depend on life-cycle stage. Wives who consider their families complete tend to be more responsive to family financial circumstances and the characteristics of the labor market in which they live than do childless women or mothers who expect more children. History of employment is found to be most important in predicting current market activity for mothers who expect more children and least important for those who do not. Implications of the findings are discussed.