An Empirical Model of Labor Supply in a Life Cycle Setting

This paper formulates and estimates a structural life cycle model of labor supply. Using theoretical characterizations derived from an economic model of life cycle behavior, a two-stage empirical analysis yields estimates of intertemporal and uncompensated substitution effects which provides the information needed to predict the response of hours of work to life cycle wage growth and shifts in the lifetime wage path. The empirical model developed here provides a natural framework for interpreting estimates found in other work on this topic. It also indicates how cross section specifications of hours of work can be modified to estimate parameters relevant for describing labor supply behavior in a lifetime setting.