Abstract

This paper analyzes the married women labor force participation across income
strata. Both empirical and theoretical evidences indicate that this participation is higher the
lower the husband’s income, which may suggest that women participation in the labor market
is greater among the poor. Our results show, however, that just the opposite relationship
emerges when one considers a more appropriate income concept for poverty matters: household
per capita income, that accounts for women’s earnings. Therefore, policies aimed at
eliminating barriers to their access to the labor market, coupled with the provision of adequate
substitutes for child rearing activities, should contribute to ameliorate poverty.

JEL Classification: J16; J22.