Labour Supply as a Buffer

Evidence from UK Households

Bibliographic Data

ID9727349
AuthorsANDREW BENITO (Bank of England and IZA), Jumana Saleheen (0000-0001-7058-0395, Bank of England and IZA)
Year2013
Volume80
Issue320
Pages698-720
Publication date2013-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0427 • E-ISSN: 1468-0335
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ecca.12030
OpenAlexW3121355409
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited29

This paper examines how individuals use their labour supply—hours of work and participation decisions—as a margin of adjustment or ‘buffer’ in response to financial shocks. The financial shock measure is constructed using individuals' expected change to their financial situation in the year ahead relative to the perceived outcome one year later. Using BHPS data, we find that both men and women adjust their labour supply in response to financial shocks. The propensity to participate in the labour market also appears to respond to the experience of a financial shock, but is less robust

Business · Demographic economics · Economics · Labour economics · Labour supply · Margin (machine learning) · Monetary economics · Propensity score matching · Shock (circulatory) · Work (physics) · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Retirement, Disability, and Employment