The Economics of Women, Men, and Work

Francine D. Blau is Frances Perkins Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Professor of Economics at Cornell University; and Research Associate of the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) and Research Fellow of IZA (the Institute for the Study of Labor). She is a fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the Labor and Employment Relations Association; and has served as president of the Society of Labor Economists and of the Labor and Employment Relations Association, and vice president of the American Economic Association. Professor Blau has written extensively on gender issues, wage inequality, immigration, and international comparisons of labor market outcomes. In addition to refereed journal articles, she is author of Equal Pay in the Office and Gender, Inequality, and Wages, and, with Lawrence Kahn, At Home and Abroad: U.S. Labor Market Performance in International Perspective. Anne E. Winkler is Professor of Economics and Public Policy Administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). She is also a Research Fellow at IZA (the Institute for the Study of Labor). She serves on the Editorial Boards of Social Science Quarterly and Journal of Labor Research. Her work has appeared in economics and broader social science journals including Journal of Human Resources, Research in Labor Economics, Monthly Labor Review, Demography, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Urban Economics, Management Science, and IZA World of Labor.

• Preface Acknowledgments Part I. Introduction and Historical Perspectives Chapter 1. Introduction What Economics Is About Uses of Economic Theory The Scope of Economics Individuals, Families, and Households A Further Note on Terminology Outline of the Book Questions for Review and Discussion Key TermsAppendix 1A: A Review of Supply and Demand in the Labor Market Chapter 2. Women and Men: Historical Perspectives The Source of Gender Differences: Nature versus Nurture-The Ongoing Debate Factors Influencing Women's Relative Status Women's Roles and Economic Development The U.S. Experience BOX: Economic Incentives: An Engine of Change for Women's Property RightsHistorical Evidence on Occupations and EarningsBOX: College Educated Women Over the Last 100 Years: Work, Family or Both?Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Part II. The Allocation of Time between the Household and the Labor Market Chapter 3. The Family as an Economic Unit: Theoretical Perspectives The Simple Neoclassical Model: Specialization and Exchange Comparative Advantage Specialization and Exchange: Numerical Examples Decreasing Gains to Specialization and Exchange and the Shift Away from the Traditional Family Disadvantages of Specialization Lack of Sharing of Housework Life Cycle Changes Costs of Interdependence Tastes and Bargaining Power Domestic Violence Advantages of Families beyond Specialization Economies of Scale Public Goods Externalities in Consumption Gains from Shared Consumption Marriage-Specific Investments Risk Pooling Institutional Advantages Transaction Cost and Bargaining Approaches Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key TermsAppendix 3A: Specialization and Exchange: A Graphical Analysis Chapter 4. The Family as an Economic Unit: Evidence Time Spent in Nonmarket Work Time Spent in Housework Time Spent with Children Time Spent in Volunteer Work Estimating the Value of Nonmarket Production BOX: The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001: Just Compensation?The American Family in the Twenty-First Century BOX: The State of Unions in the United StatesConclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data Exercise Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 5. The Labor Force: Definitions and Trends The Labor Force: Some Definitions Trends in Labor Force Participation Broad Labor Force Trends by Gender: 1890 to Present Labor Force Trends by Race/Ethnicity Labor Force Trends over the Life Cycle Trends in Labor Force Attachment of Women Trends in Hours Worked Trends in Gender Differences in Unemployment Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data Exercise Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 6. The Labor Supply Decision The Labor Supply Decision The Budget Constraint Indifference Curves The Labor Force Participation Decision The Value of Nonmarket Time The Value of Market Time The Hours Decision Empirical Evidence on the Responsiveness of Labor Supply to Wages and Income BOX: Labor Supply ElasticitiesEconomic Conditions Some Applications of the Theory: Taxes, Child Care Costs, and Labor Supply Taxes and the Decision to Work Government Subsidies of Child Care and Women's Labor Force Participation Other Factors Affecting Child Care Costs and Women's Labor Force Participation Analyzing the Long-Term Growth in Women's Labor Force Participation Factors Influencing the Value of Market Time Factors Influencing the Value of Nonmarket Time BOX: The World II Experience: Women's Surge in Labor Force ParticipationRecent Trends in Women's Labor Force Participation: Has the Engine of Growth Stalled? Analyzing Trends in Men's Labor Force Participation Black and White Participation Differentials: Serious Employment Problems for Black Men Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key TermsAppendix 6A: The Income and Substitution Effects: A Closer Look Part III. Labor Market Outcomes: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Chapter 7. Evidence on Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes Gender Differences in Occupations Overview of Gender Differences in Occupations Measuring Occupational Segregation Hierarchies within Occupations Evaluating the Extent of Occupational Segregation Trends in Occupational Segregation by Sex BOX: Women in the Military: No Positions Are Off Limits as of 2016The Gender Pay Ratio BOX: The Gender Pay Gap in the NewsGender Differences in Union Membership Gender Differences in Self-Employment Gender Differences in Nonstandard Work Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data Exercise Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 8. Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Theory and Evidence Supply and Demand Explanations: An Overview What Is Human Capital? Gender Differences in Levels of Educational Attainment Gender Differences in High School Coursework and College Field of StudyThe Educational Investment Decision BOX: Calculating the Net Present Value of a Human Capital InvestmentThe Rising College Wage or Earnings Premium Education and Productivity Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: The Human Capital Explanation BOX: Where are the Women Economics Majors? Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: Social Influences and Anticipation of Discrimination Socialization Biased Evaluations Subtle Barriers: Role Models, Mentoring, and Networking The Impact of Title IX-Sports, Academics,Sexual Harassment, and Sexual ViolenceExplaining Women's Rising Educational Attainment Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data ExerciseSuggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 9. Other Supply-Side Sources of Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes: On-the-Job Training, Family Gaps, Psychological Attributes, and Math Test Scores On-the-Job Training and Labor Market Experience Gender Differences in Labor Market Experience The On-the-Job Training Investment Decision General Training Firm-Specific Training Why Do Firms Pay Tuition Benefits? Experience and Productivity Gender Differences in Training Investment Decisions Expected Work Life Discrimination Occupations and Earnings Temporal Flexibility and the Gender Wage GapFamily-Related Earnings Gaps Traditional Gender Roles and Gender Wage Gaps Wage Penalties and Premiums Associated with Marriage and Parenthood Gender Differences in Psychological Attributes Attitudes toward Negotiating Attitudes toward Competition Attitudes toward Risk Gender Differences in the "Big Five" Personality Traits A Closer Look at Gender Differences in Math Test Scores BOX: Women, Men and Stereotype ThreatConclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 10. Evidence on the Sources of Gender Differences in Earnings and Occupations: Supply-Side Factors versus Labor Market Discrimination Labor Market Discrimination: A Definition Analyzing the Sources of Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes Empirical Evidence on the Sources of Gender Differences in Earnings Evidence from Statistical Analyses: Labor Market-wide Evidence Biases in the Estimate of Discrimination Evidence on Possible Sources of the Unexplained Gender Wage Gap BOX: The Effect of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity on EarningsFurther Evidence from Statistical Analyses: A Look at Subgroups of College Graduates, Lawyers, and MBAs Evidence on Discrimination from Experiments Evidence on Discrimination from Court Cases Evidence on Discrimination: An Assessment The Declining Gender Pay Gap The Context: Widening Wage Inequality BOX: The Minimum Wage: What is It? Determinants of Trends in the Gender Wage Gap Explaining the Decline in the Gender Wage Gap Minorities Fared Less Well in Narrowing the Wage Gap with Whites Empirical Evidence on the Causes and Consequences of Gender Differences in Occupations Consequences of Occupational Segregation Causes of Occupational Segregation Is There a Glass Ceiling? Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key TermsAppendix 10A: Regression Analysis and Empirical Estimates of Labor Market Discrimination Chapter 11. Labor Market Discrimination: Theory Theories of Labor Market Discrimination: An Overview Tastes for Discrimination Employer Discrimination Employee Discrimination Customer Discrimination Subtle Barriers Statistical Discrimination Perceptions of Average Gender Differences Can Result in a Pay Gap Statistical Discrimination and Feedback Effects Empirical Evidence on Gender Differences in Quitting The Overcrowding Model Institutional Models The Internal Labor Market Primary and Secondary Jobs Feedback Effects Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 12. Government Policies to Combat Employment Discrimination Rationales for Government Intervention Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Regulations Equal Pay Act Title VII of the Civil Rights Act Executive Order 11246 and Affirmative Action Major Court Decisions and Legislation That Have Shaped the Equal Employment Laws and Regulations Effectiveness of the Government's Antidiscrimination Effort Affirmative Action BOX: Quotas for Women in the BoardroomComparable Worth BOX: Job EvaluationConclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Part IV The Economics of the Family: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Chapter 13. Changing Work Roles and Family Formation Economic Explanations for Family Formation The Role of Gains to Specialization in Production Declining Gains from Specialization in Production Other Benefits from Marriage Remain and Some May Be Increasing Marriage Marriage Patterns by Educational AttainmentConclusionDivorce Cohabitation: Opposite-Sex Couples Cohabitation and Marriage: Same-Sex Couples Fertility Trends in Fertility Rates: World War II to Present Timing of Fertility by Educational Attainment Births to Unmarried Mothers Teen Births Births to Older Mothers Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data Exercise Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 14. The Changing American Family and Implications for Family Well-Being Changing Family Structure Dual-Earner Families Single-Parent Families Poverty: Incidence and Measurement Implications for Children's Well-Being Maternal Employment, Child Care, and Children's Outcomes Family Economic Disadvantage and Children's OutcomesFamily Structure and Children's Outcomes Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Internet-Based Data Exercise Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 15. Government Policies Affecting Family Well-Being Policies to Alleviate Poverty Aid to Families with Dependent Children: The Former U.S. Welfare Program Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: The Current U.S. Welfare Program The Earned Income Tax Credit Employment Strategies Child Support Enforcement BOX: Beyond Traditional Income and Work Support Policies: Marriage PromotionTaxes, Specialization, and Marriage Federal Income Tax Social Security Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 16. Balancing the Competing Demands of Work and Family The Competing Demands of Work and Family Work-Family Challenges Faced by Low-Wage Workers with FamiliesWork-Family Challenges for Highly-Educated Professional WomenBOX: In the Media: Prominent Women Debate Whether Highly-Educated Women Can "Have it All" Particular Challenges for Women Balancing Work and FamilyRationales for Government and Employer Policies to Assist Workers Rationales for Government Policies Rationales for Employer Policies Government and Employer Family-Friendly Policies Government Leave Policies at the Federal Level Paid Leave: Action on Leave Policies at the State LevelChild Care Other Family-Friendly Policies Alternative Work Schedules Flexible Benefits Policies to Assist Couples BOX: How to Handle a Job InterviewConclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Part V. The Economic Status of the World's Women Chapter 17. Gender Differences Around the WorldIndicators of Women's Economic StatusThe International Context Labor Force ParticipationTime Spent in Unpaid WorkEducational AttainmentBOX: Middle East and North Africa: Low Female Labor Force Participation Despite Rising Educational Attainment The Benefits of Educating GirlsCross-National Trends in Fertility RatesVariations in Sex-Ratios at BirthBOX: China's One-Child Policy: A Case Study of the Unintended Consequences of a Seemingly Neutral Fertility Policy Women's Political and Legal Empowerment Multidimensional Measures of Women's StatusEconomic Development, Globalization, and Women's StatusBOX: Microfinance: Mirage or Lifeline? Conclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Chapter 18. A Comparison of the United States to Other Economically Advanced Countries An Overview of International Differences in Policies and Institutions Labor Market Policies to Combat Gender Discrimination Wage-Setting PoliciesFamily-Friendly Policies Tax PoliciesU.S. Women's Labor Force Participation in an International Context The U.S. Gender Wage Ratio in an International Context BOX: Comparable Worth in AustraliaUnderstanding Low Fertility in Economically Advanced CountriesConclusion Questions for Review and Discussion Suggested Readings Key Terms Author Index Subject Index

I really love this book. I love the presentation, which is sophisticated yet accessible to students who have had no economics experience. Economics majors love the applications and are often surprised at what they learn. The text has been strengthened and solidified over time. I am so impressed that the updates have been comprehensive, the data is not stale, and references to new research have been incorporated seamlessly. Love it. I'm starting to sound like a groupie."