Susan Harkness
Biographic Data
| ID | 5691609 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Susan Harkness |
| GIVEN NAMES | Susan |
| FAMILY NAME | Harkness |
| SIGNATURE | HARKNESS S |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 7 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Single Mothers’ Income in Twelve Rich Countries
I examine how single motherhood affects income in different quantiles of the distribution in twelve rich countries. Using harmonized data from the Luxembourg Income Study, I show how the distribution of income for households headed by single mothers differs from households with children that are headed by couples. I show that there is a striking variation by country in the influence of single motherhood on income at different points of the distri…
The Single Motherhood Penalty as a Gender Penalty
Recent analysis has suggested that poverty rates, and their variation across rich countries, is driven much less by the prevalence of certain risks than by the poverty penalty attached to the risks. Focusing on single motherhood as a poverty risk, it is claimed the penalty attached to it is specific to the United States. This claim, we show, relies on models that condition on the major mechanisms through which poverty risks are heightened: the ri…
Welfare Reform and Lone Parents in the UK
A series of reforms to help low income families with children were introduced in the UK in 1999, including in-work tax credits and welfare-to-work programmes. Lone parents were a key target for these reforms - they comprised 22% of all families by 1998 but 55% of families with children in poverty. Previous studies have shown that the reforms raised employment among lone parents. This article extends the analysis of the effect of the reforms to co…
The Family Gap in Pay
In this paper, we use microdata on employment and earnings from a variety of industrialized countries to investigate the family gap in pay – the differential in hourly wages between women with children and women without children. We present results from seven countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. We find that there is a good deal of variation across our sample countries in the effects o…
The Household Division of Labour
Female employment grew rapidly in the 1990s, and this has accelerated the demise in the numbers of families headed by a male breadwinner. In 2002, three-quarters of married or cohabiting couples, and 56 per cent of those with children under school age, were supported by two-earners. Women in couples where both partners work full-time have always worked long hours, an average 40-hour week in 2002. What has changed over the decade is that there are…
Welfare Reform and the Employment of Lone Parents
Employment rates for lone parents in the UK in the early 1990s were extremely low, when compared with those in other countries or with married women in this country, at just over 40 per cent. Since 1993 the employment of lone parents has risen by 11 percentage points to reach 53 per cent in 2002. This is more than twice the increase in employment for the population as a whole. The rate of increase in employment was notably faster after 1998 when …
Women's pay and family incomes in Britain, 1979–91
One of the most striking trends in Britain over the past 10–15 years is the sharp rise in the labour force participation of women. Despite women's increased participation, other aspects of their labour force activity remain unchanged. Women still tend to be clustered in female-dominated occupations and, compared to men, they are still disproportionately likely to be working part-time, and to be low paid.
Welfare Reform and Lone Parents in the UK
A series of reforms to help low income families with children were introduced in the UK in 1999, including in-work tax credits and welfare-to-work programmes. Lone parents were a key target for these reforms - they comprised 22% of all families by 1998 but 55% of families with children in poverty. Previous studies have shown that the reforms raised employment among lone parents. This article extends the analysis of the effect of the reforms to co…
The Single Motherhood Penalty as a Gender Penalty
Recent analysis has suggested that poverty rates, and their variation across rich countries, is driven much less by the prevalence of certain risks than by the poverty penalty attached to the risks. Focusing on single motherhood as a poverty risk, it is claimed the penalty attached to it is specific to the United States. This claim, we show, relies on models that condition on the major mechanisms through which poverty risks are heightened: the ri…
Women's pay and family incomes in Britain, 1979–91
One of the most striking trends in Britain over the past 10–15 years is the sharp rise in the labour force participation of women. Despite women's increased participation, other aspects of their labour force activity remain unchanged. Women still tend to be clustered in female-dominated occupations and, compared to men, they are still disproportionately likely to be working part-time, and to be low paid.
The Household Division of Labour
Female employment grew rapidly in the 1990s, and this has accelerated the demise in the numbers of families headed by a male breadwinner. In 2002, three-quarters of married or cohabiting couples, and 56 per cent of those with children under school age, were supported by two-earners. Women in couples where both partners work full-time have always worked long hours, an average 40-hour week in 2002. What has changed over the decade is that there are…
Welfare Reform and the Employment of Lone Parents
Employment rates for lone parents in the UK in the early 1990s were extremely low, when compared with those in other countries or with married women in this country, at just over 40 per cent. Since 1993 the employment of lone parents has risen by 11 percentage points to reach 53 per cent in 2002. This is more than twice the increase in employment for the population as a whole. The rate of increase in employment was notably faster after 1998 when …
The Family Gap in Pay
In this paper, we use microdata on employment and earnings from a variety of industrialized countries to investigate the family gap in pay – the differential in hourly wages between women with children and women without children. We present results from seven countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. We find that there is a good deal of variation across our sample countries in the effects o…
Welfare Reform and Lone Parents in the UK
A series of reforms to help low income families with children were introduced in the UK in 1999, including in-work tax credits and welfare-to-work programmes. Lone parents were a key target for these reforms - they comprised 22% of all families by 1998 but 55% of families with children in poverty. Previous studies have shown that the reforms raised employment among lone parents. This article extends the analysis of the effect of the reforms to co…
The Single Motherhood Penalty as a Gender Penalty
Recent analysis has suggested that poverty rates, and their variation across rich countries, is driven much less by the prevalence of certain risks than by the poverty penalty attached to the risks. Focusing on single motherhood as a poverty risk, it is claimed the penalty attached to it is specific to the United States. This claim, we show, relies on models that condition on the major mechanisms through which poverty risks are heightened: the ri…
Single Mothers’ Income in Twelve Rich Countries
I examine how single motherhood affects income in different quantiles of the distribution in twelve rich countries. Using harmonized data from the Luxembourg Income Study, I show how the distribution of income for households headed by single mothers differs from households with children that are headed by couples. I show that there is a striking variation by country in the influence of single motherhood on income at different points of the distri…
Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics (7 works) · Demographic economics (6 works) · Economics (6 works) · Labour economics (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Demography (3 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (3 works) · Social Policy and Reform Studies (3 works) · Work-Family Balance Challenges (3 works)