Abstract
We empirically analyzed the labor market participation of Italian women, with special emphasis on the role of intergenerational family links. Older relatives, on the one hand, discourage the work participation of women by requiring care; on the other hand they may provide household services favoring labor supply. We studied this dual impact estimating a trivariate probit model where the three choices to be in the labor force, to use informal help from older relatives and to care for them are jointly determined. Our estimates show that care duties towards members of the previous generation hinder the labor market participation of Italian women, and that informal help received from older relatives strongly increases their probability of being engaged in paid work.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Despite the fact that the special section of SHIW 2000 contains important information regarding family links, our research would be further enhanced by other information, for example regarding attitudes about work on the part of the woman, her partner, or extended family. However, this kind of information could be gathered only through focused interviews, which would be problematic to conduct on a representative sample of the population under study.
Initially we chose the 15–64 age range because it corresponds to the working age. However, in our sample there were no married/partnered mothers labor force participants who were heads of family or spouses/live-in partners of the head of the family younger than 19. Thus, the age range of the women who were actually included in our analysis is 19–64.
The coefficient of the dummy variable for residence in a city with less than 50,000 inhabitants (Z 1) was 0.003, and the standard error was 0.074; the coefficients/standard errors of the variables number of sisters of the woman and age of the oldest relative among parents and parents-in-law (vector Z 2) were, respectively, −0.044/0.031 and −0.001/0.002. Thus, these variables were not statistically significant, and this fact ensures the validity of the used exclusion restrictions.
References
Addabbo, T. (1999). Labor supply and employment probabilities in Italy: A gender analysis in a regional perspective. Economia e Lavoro, 33, 189–207.
Banca D’Italia. (2002). I bilanci delle famiglie italiane nell’anno 2000. Supplemento al Bollettino Statistico. Note metodologiche e Informazioni Statistiche. Roma: Banca d’Italia.
Becker, G. S. (1965). A theory of the allocation of time. Economic Journal, 7, 493–517.
Bettio, F., & Villa, P. (1999). To what extent does it pay to be better educated? Education and market work for women in Italy. South European Society and Politics, 4, 150–171.
Bratti, M. (2003). Female labor force participation and marital fertility of Italian women: The role of education. Journal of Population Economics, 16, 525–554.
Browning, M. (1992). Children and household economic behavior. Journal of Economic Literature, 30, 1434–1475.
Bryant, K. W. (1990). Work and leisure: How the household spends its time. In The economic organization of the household (pp. 125–197). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cappellari, L., & Jenkins, P. S. (2003). Multivariate probit regression using simulated maximum likelihood. The Stata Journal, 3, 221–222.
Caputo, R. K. (2002). Adult daughters as parental caregivers: Rational actors versus rational agents. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 23, 27–50.
Chang, C., & White-Means, S. I. (1995). Labor supply of informal care-givers. International Review of Applied Economics, 9, 192–205.
Chiuri, M. C. (2000). Quality and demand of child care and female labor supply in Italy. Labour, 14, 97–118.
Del Boca, D. (1997). Intrahousehold distribution of resources and labor market participation decisions. In I. Persson & C. Jonung (Eds.), Economics of the family and family policies (pp. 65–83). London: Routledge Press.
Del Boca, D. (2002). The effect of child care and part time opportunities on participation and fertility decisions in Italy. Journal of Population Economics, 15, 549–573.
Del Boca, D., Locatelli, M., & Pasqua, S. (2000). Employment decisions of married women: Evidence and explanation. Labour, 14, 35–52.
Ettner, L. S. (1995). The impact of “parent care” on female labor supply decisions. Demography, 32, 63–80.
Ettner, L. S. (1996). The opportunity cost of elder care. Journal of Human Resources, 31, 189–205.
Greene, W. H. (2003). Econometric analysis (5th ed., pp. 931–933). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Hill, E. J., Märtinson, V. K., Ferris, M., & Zenger Baker, R. (2004). Beyond the mommy track: The influence of new-concept part-time work for professional women on work and family. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 25, 121–136.
Hunts, H. J. H., & Avery, R. J. (1998). Relatives as child care givers: After hours support for nontraditional workers. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 19, 315–341.
Istat. (2001). Parentela e reti di solidarietà. Indagine Multiscopo sulle famiglie. Aspetti della vita quotidiana: anno 1998 [Kin and solidarity networks. Family survey. Aspects of everyday life: Year 1998]. Roma: Istat.
Joesch, J. M. (1998). Where are the children? Extent and determinants of preschoolers’ child care time. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 19, 75–99.
Koh, S., & MacDonald, M. (2006). Financial reciprocity and elder care: Interdependent resource transfers. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 27, 420–436.
Kolodinsky, J., & Shirey, L. (2000). The impact of living with an elder parent on adult daughter’s labor supply and hours of work. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 21, 149–175.
Lai, D. W. L., & Leonenko, W. (2007). Effects of caregiving on employment and economic costs of Chinese family caregivers in Canada. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28, 411–427.
Meeks, C. B., Nickols, S. Y., & Sweaney, A. L. (1999). Demographic comparisons of aging in five selected countries. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 20, 223–250.
Nakamura, A., & Nakamura, M. (1992). The econometrics of female labor supply and children. Econometric Reviews, 11, 1–71.
Nichols, L. S., & Junk, V. W. (1997). The sandwich generation: Dependency, proximity, and task assistance needs of parents. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 18, 299–326.
O’Higgins, N. (1994). YTS, employment, and sample selection bias. Oxford Economic Papers, 46, 605–628.
Presser, H. B. (1989). Some economic complexities of child care provided by grandmothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 581–591.
Ribar, D. C. (1992). Child care and labor supply of married women: Reduced form evidence. Journal of Human Resources, 27, 134–165.
Rossetti, S., & Tanda, P. (2000). Human capital, wages and family interactions. Labour, 14, 5–34.
Tanda, P. (1994). Partecipazione femminile in Italia: evidenza empirica su dati individuali [Female participation in Italy: Empirical evidence on individual data]. Economia e Lavoro, 28, 123–134.
Visco, I. (2000). Welfare, invecchiamento della popolazione e lavoro: una prospettiva OCSE [Welfare, population aging and work: An OECD prospect]. Moneta e Credito, 209, 55–85.
Wolf, D. A., & Soldo, B. J. (1994). Married women’s allocation of time to employment and care of elderly parents. Journal of Human Resources, 29, 1259–1276.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pagani, L., Marenzi, A. The Labor Market Participation of Sandwich Generation Italian Women. J Fam Econ Iss 29, 427–444 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-008-9112-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-008-9112-0