Partner's resources and adjusting working hours in the Netherlands: differences over time, between levels of human capital, and over the family cycle

We study to what extent adjustments in labor market participation, defined as employment entry and exit, and as increases and reductions of weekly working hours, depend on resources of the partner. Moreover, we investigate whether the influence of the partner depends on historical period, human capital, and children. We are especially interested in the economic-based hypothesis that people are more likely to reduce working hours when their partners have more resources. We use retrospective information on labor market careers of 5,685 respondents and their (ex-)partners (Family Surveys of the Dutch Population 1998-2003). Our results provide little support for the economic hypothesis, and we suggest that family formation and cultural factors are more important predictors for male and female labor market participation adjustments in the Netherlands.