Gender, Work, and Labour Markets

213 Pages·1997·10.023 MB·English

by  Sue Hatt

Gender, Work and
Labour Markets
Sue Hatt
GENDER, WORK AND LABOUR MARKETS
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Gender, Work and
Labour Markets
Sue Hatt
Senior Lecturer in Economics
University of the West of England
Bristol
Consultant Editor: Jo Campling
flfl
First published in Great Britain 1997 by
ft MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-65778-0 hardcover
ISBN 0-333-65779-9 paperback
First published in the United States of America 1997 by
ft ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN0-312-17246-X
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hatt, Sue, 1946-
Gender, work and labour markets / Sue Hatt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-17246-X (cloth)
1. Women—Employment—Great Britain. 2. Men—Employment—Great
Britain. 3. Work and family—Great Britain. 4. Unemployed—Great
Britain. I. Title.
HD6135.H377 1997
331.4'0941—dc20 96-43973
CIP
©Sue Hatt 1997
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97
Printed in Great Britain by
The Ipswich Book Company Ltd
Ipswich, Suffolk
Contents
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Acknowledgements xi
1 Labour Resources
Men and Women in the Economy 1
What is Economics About? 1
Men and Women in the Working Population 2
The Use of Productive Resources 3
Unemployment and Underemployment 6
An Increase in the Production Possibility Frontier 7
Changes in the Working Population 8
Men and Women in Production 10
The Participation Rate of Men and Women 12
Women's Participation and Production 14
Summary 15
2 Changing Employment Patterns
Are Women Taking Men's Jobs? 17
Changes in Employment 17
Economic Analysis of Employment Patterns 19
Segregation in Labour Markets 20
Industrial Segregation and Employment Patterns 23
Part-time Employment 25
Changes in the Participation Rate for Men and Women 28
Conclusion 33
3 Housework, Childcare and Employment
The Division of Labour Within the Household 35
Changes in Households 35
Housework and Care Giving 38
Comparative Advantage and the Division of Labour 40
The Domestic Division of Labour 41
Housework, Specialization and Earnings 45
The Quality of Life 47
Waged Domestic Labour 48
Conclusion 49
v
vi Gender, Work and Labour Markets
4 Work or Leisure?
The Labour Supply Decision of Men and Women 51
Households and Labour Supply 51
The Individual Worker's Supply Curve of Labour 53
Income and Substitution Effects 55
Women's Employment, Income and Substitution Effects 57
Women and Part-time Employment 58
Men's Employment, Income and Substitution Effects 61
Part-time Employment for Men 63
Summary 64
5 Men's Jobs, Women's Jobs
The Labour Supply to Occupations 65
Segregation in Employment 65
Human Capital: an Explanation 68
Education as Human Capital Investment 69
Men, Women and Human Capital Investment 72
Human Capital Investment and the Deterioration of Skills 75
Training, Vocational Education and Experience 77
Alternative Explanations of Occupational Segregation 79
Summary 81
6 Unemployment
Is it a Man's Problem? 83
Introduction 83
Does Unemployment Matter? 84
What is Unemployment? 87
Measuring Unemployment 89
Unemployment in Britain 90
Hidden Unemployment 92
Women's Unemployment an4 Economic Policy 94
Survey-based Measures of Unemployment 96
Summary 98
7 More Jobs, Less Dole?
Men and Women in the Economy 99
Employment, Unemployment and the Working Population 99
Cyclical Unemployment and the Deflationary Gap 102
Cyclical Unemployment and Gender 105
Real Wage Unemployment 108
The Natural Rate of Unemployment 110
Conclusion 114
Contents vn
8 Wage Rates and the Demand for Labour 116
The Gender Wage Gap 116
Wages and Prices in a Market Economy 117
The Demand for Labour: the Market and the Firm 119
Marginal Product and Diminishing Returns 120
The Firm's Demand for Labour 122
Shifts in the Demand Curve 123
The Skills and Qualifications of Men and Women 125
Trade Unions and Skill 126
Women's Employment, Skill and Experience 128
Summary 131
9 Equal Pay?
Labour Markets in Practice 133
Introduction 133
Wage Differentials and Occupational Mobility 135
Barriers to Occupational Mobility 136
Occupational Segregation by Gender 138
Segregation and Wage Rates 139
Discrimination in Employment 141
Economic Discrimination 142
Vertical Segregation, Discrimination and Earnings 145
Statistical Discrimination 146
Trade Unions and Earnings 147
Summary and Conclusion 148
10 Labour Market Policies 150
Introduction 150
Equal Pay Legislation and Economic Discrimination 151
Equal Pay Legislation and Productivity Differences 153
Equal Pay and Single Sex Occupations 154
Consequences of the Equal Pay Act 156
Maternity Leave 157
The Introduction of a Minimum Wage 159
A Minimum Wage in Competitive Labour Markets 161
Monopsonistic Labour Markets and a Minimum Wage 163
Summary 167
11 Women in the European Union 168
The Formation of the European Union 168
The Political, Social and Economic Dimensions of Europe 169
Gender, Work and Labour Markets
Vlll
Equal Pay, the Single Market and the Social Charter 172
Women's Economic Activity in the Member States 174
Part-time Employment in Europe 178
Women's Pay, Employment and Unemployment 179
Women's Employment and Family Friendly Policies 181
Summary 185
12 Conclusion 187
Economic and Social Change 187
Economic Change and Government Policy 188
Men, Women and Care Giving 190
Economics, Statistics and Policy 192
Bibliography 194
Index 197
List of Tables
Table 1.1 The Working Population 9
Table 2.1 Employees in Employment 18
Table 2.2 Employment by Industry 1994 22
Table 2.3 Participation Rates in Great Britain 29
Table 3.1 Average Weekly Hours of Work 38
Table 3.2 Domestic Division of Labour 43
Table 3.3 Comparative Advantage and the Domestic Division
of Labour 44
Table 3.4 Specialization and Comparative Advantage 45
Table 4.1 The Substitution Effect is Stronger than Income Effect 56
Table 4.2 The Income Effect Stronger than Substitution Effect 62
Table 6.1 The Level of Unemployment 85
Table 6.2 Men's and Women's Rate of Unemployment 91
Table 6.3 Comparison of Measures of Unemployment 97
Table 7.1 Women's Unemployment as a Percentage of Total
Unemployment 106
Table 8.1 Women's Hourly Earnings as a Percentage of
Men's 1993 116
Table 8.2 The Marginal Revenue Product 121
Table 9.1 Hourly Earnings of Men and Women in Selected
Occupations 134
Table 10.1 Percentage with Hourly Earnings Below a Stated
Amount 160
Table 10.2 The Supply of Labour to a Monopsonist 164
ix