Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
低收入家庭、母亲劳动供给与福利改革
Low-Income Families, Maternal Labor Supply, and Welfare Reform,
摘要
In this paper, we study reforms that reduce the large employment disincentives induced by child-related transfers for married mothers. We develop a life-cycle model where married couples face labor market risk and make labor supply and consumption-saving decisions. The evolution of female human capital is endogenous and the model accounts for heterogeneity in child care needs. We calibrate the model to non-college-educated married couples in the U.S., using Current Population Survey data. We show that participation tax rates exceed 25% for most mothers in our sample, and can be as high as 60% when including child care expenses. We then evaluate reforms to existing tax credits for working couples. We find that (i) expanding child care tax credits and (ii) introducing a secondary-earner EITC deduction lead to substantially higher employment rates among married mothers. Both reforms are easily implementable, self-financing, and welfare-improving. A combination of both reforms goes a long way in closing the maternal employment gap.
中文摘要
本文研究了旨在减少与子女相关的转移支付对已婚母亲造成的大规模就业抑制效应的改革。我们构建了一个生命周期模型，其中已婚夫妇面临劳动力市场风险，并做出劳动供给与消费储蓄决策。女性人力资本的演变是内生的，且模型考虑了育儿需求的异质性。我们利用当前人口调查数据，将模型校准至美国未受过大学教育的已婚夫妇。我们表明，在样本中大多数母亲的参与税率超过25%，若将育儿支出纳入考量，该税率可高达60%。随后，我们评估了对现有工作夫妇税收抵免的改革。我们发现：(i) 扩大育儿税收抵免，以及 (ii) 引入第二收入者劳动所得税收抵免扣除，均能显著提高已婚母亲的就业率。这两项改革均易于实施、可自我融资，并能改善福利。两项改革的组合在缩小母亲就业差距方面大有助益。