MALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
| Date | 01 November 1979 |
| Author | Christine A. Greenhalgh |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1979.tb00549.x |
| Published date | 01 November 1979 |
Scottish
Journal
of
Political Economy,
Vol.
26,
No.
3,
November 1979
MALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION
IN
GREAT BRITAIN
CHRISTINE
A.
GREENHALGH
St.
Peter's
College,
Oxford
INTRODUCTION
In the British economy it has generally been expected that males aged less than
65
are permanent members of the labour force, with the exception of the few
who are extremely rich, those in full-time education, and the disabled.
Nevertheless, small but significant variations in male labour force par-
ticipation rates across areas do exist, which may perhaps be explained with
reference to the economics of labour supply. In this theory, it is presumed
that the individual worker is making
a
labour-leisure choice, taking account
of the financial alternatives of work and non-work and of his own preferences
concerning work and leisure, together with any social stigmatism associated
with not working.
This paper attempts to determine whether or not such
a
supply model is
applicable to men, by analysing the levels of and variations in participation
rates of males in Great Britain using cross-section data for
106
towns in
1971.
The results suggest that the aggregate elasticities of male labour force
participation are small in respect
of
wage and income variables, but sig-
nificantly different from zero. The results also permit some interesting com-
parisons to be made with earlier results obtained for married women.'
Some differences and similarities emerge which illuminate the role specialis-
ation of men and women in the family, and indicate the limited extent to
which these separate roles are modified once children have grown up.
In analysing labour force participation rates for the population of a town
it is necessary to take account of factors relating to the composition of the
population as well as
of
those determining individual participation.
A
dis-
aggregated analysis for various cohorts reveals substantial differences between
younger and older men's responses, reflecting the differences in the alter-
natives to work available
to
each group.
I
METHODS
AND
DATA
For the individual with positive preferences for income and leisure, the
higher his unearned income the
less
likely he is to participate. Increases in
This sample was previously used
to
analyse labour supply
of
married women, see
Greenhalgh (1977).
Full
details
of
the sample and the variables are contained in that paper
and summarised
in
Appendix Table
B
below.
Date
of
receipt
of
final manuscript:
30
April 1979.
275
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