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Title: Opting Back In: Home Internet Use and Female Labor Supply

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: This project investigates how home Internet usage has impacted womens labor supply. Recognizing the Internet affects how, when and where individuals do myriad activities, I show that the Internets role as an input in telework, job search, home production and leisure can have offsetting effects on labor supply in an economic model of time allocation. I examine the empirical relationship using individual level data on reported Internet use and labor market outcomes. Ordinary least squares estimates suggest a positive correlation between home Internet use and married womens labor force participation, however, these estimates may be biased by reverse causality. To isolate a causal link, I employ an instrumental variables strategy that exploits cross state variation in supply side constraints to high speed Internet access. Two stage least squares estimates indicate that married women who use the Internet at home are 18 percentage points more likely to participate in the labor force. This effect is concentrated among more educated women and those with school-aged children and there is no corresponding relationship found among men. Furthermore, consistent with the conceptual framework, the data suggest that telework, job search, and time saved in home production are viable mechanisms explaining the results. This work speaks to the labor market impact of technological progress in the home. It also suggests Internet use enables women to combine work and family more effectively and facilitates (re)entry into the labor force for those who opted out to have children.

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Authors: Dettling, Lisa J.

Publisher: University of Maryland

Data Collections: IPUMS Time Use - ATUS

Topics: Education, Family and Marriage, Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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