Premium
Religious Conservatism and Women’s Market Behavior Following Marriage and Childbirth
Author(s) -
Glass Jennifer,
Nath Leda E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00278.x
Subject(s) - conservatism , ideology , economics , wage , childbirth , fertility , labour economics , inequality , demographic economics , marital status , sociology , population , demography , pregnancy , political science , law , mathematical analysis , mathematics , politics , biology , genetics
This study explores the effect of religious conservatism on the labor force behavior of women who marry or add a new child to their household, using the 1988 – 1993 National Survey of Families and Households (N = 3,494). We model changes in labor supply, occupation, and wages as a function of either conservative denominational membership or conservative religious belief, holding other economic and demographic characteristics constant. Among Whites, conservative denomination did decrease labor supply following marriage or a marital birth, whereas conservative religious beliefs had larger influences on occupation choice and wages. Among Blacks, conservative denomination increased labor supply following marital births, but neither denomination nor belief affected occupation or wage growth. Results show the significance of religious ideology for understanding continuing gender inequality.