FEMALE LABOR-FORCE PARTICIPATION AND THE CHOICE OF OCCUPATION - THE SUPPLY OF TEACHERS

This paper examines the relationship between occupational choice and participation decisions by women. It is motivated by recent policy debate in the U.K. concerning the supply of teachers where about sixty per cent of teachers are female and the recruitment of women is vital to the maintenance of the labour force in teaching. Models of earnings determination, occupational choice and labour force participation are estimated for a large sample of female graduates. The choice of occupation and labour market status is modelled as a joint decision between: (i) teaching and non-teaching; and (ii) working and not-working. Estimates from alternative models show that participation decisions are correlated with occupational choice, with individuals who choose teaching being more likely to work. The choice of occupation is also affected by the earnings differential between teaching and non teaching suggesting that teacher shortages could be alleviated by raising teacher's earnings.