Reciprocal effects of health and labor force participation among women: evidence from two longitudinal studies

Abstract

Longitudinal data were analyzed to provide information concerning the effects of health on women's labor force participation and the effects of labor force participation on women's health. The data were from a representative national sample of middle-aged women and a representative sample of women from Alameda County, California. Significant relationships were observed between self-reported health and subsequent changes in labor force participation. Women who reported poorer health were more likely to leave the labor force and less likely to join the labor force. In contrast, no significant relationships were observed between labor force participation and subsequent self-reported change in health. (These latter relationships could be tested only for married women in the national sample.) In conclusion, our analyses provide substantial evidence that health affects women's labor force participation (the healthy worker effect). In contrast, we did not find evidence that, on the average, labor force participation has either harmful or beneficial effects on the general health of middle-aged married women in the United States.