Why Do Some Women Participate in the Labor Force While Others Stay at Home?

Abstract

A woman with a high level of education is expected to participate actively in the labor market, according to the supply-side explanation. Due to her high earning potential, the opportunity cost of her staying at home will be greater than in the case of a woman with a low level of education. However, this approach does not seem to work well in explaining work behaviors of Korean women in 1970. In 1970, Korea was in the initial phase of industrialization which began to provide job opportunities for women in areas other than agriculture on a large scale. But, despite the increasing job opportunities, there were few options for well educated women in the labor market. Furthermore, domestic ideology formed by Confucianism prevailed and influenced Korean womens behaviors. Structural and ideological factors are expected to have a negative effect on the participation in the labor market among educated women. My analysis shows that education effect on womens participation in the labor force is not significant, which is contrary to the expectation from the supply-side explanation. The insignificant effect of education seems to result from the interplay between limited opportunities for women in the labor market structure and domestic ideology in Korea in 1970.