Determinants of women's labour force participation in Queensland

This thesis explores issues of labour market theory to investigate the determinants of women's labour force participation in Queensland. The thesis broadens current knowledge by offering a retrospective account of Queensland women's labour force involvement - information currently lacking - as well as providing an updated snapshot of Queensland women's current labour supply behaviour. Using econometric modelling techniques, time-series models are formed to uncover the factors behind women's rising participation rates over time. Complementary cross-sectional models are constructed to distinguish the individual characteristics that make women more or less likely to participate in the labour force at any point in time. Time-series analysis uses ABS data spanning the years 1975 to 2000, while cross-sectional analysis uses 1996 Census unit record files. Beyond economic factors, this study considers the role of other social and demographic factors in explaining women's labour force behaviour. Further, it acknowledges the influence of unquantifiable, psychological factors that account for that part of participation rates that econometric models cannot capture. Results are interpreted in a theoretical context. The main findings confirm the dominance of a substitution effect in women's labour market. The analysis also reveals that women's participation decisions are strongly determined by other economic variables and individual demographic characteristics. Distinctions are drawn between the labour supply behaviour of married and non-married women, and between full-time and part-time participation. The study highlights the need to consider the unordered nature of women's labour market behaviour, an econometric practice overlooked by previous researchers. Policy implications are also discussed.