7THE EFFECT OF REAL WAGE RATES ON FEMALE LFPR The Effect of Real Wage Rates on Female LFPR

This paper attempts to explain the effect of real wages for women on the labor force participation rates of married women. The study examines this relationship while controlling for fertility rates, divorce rates, education, real wages for men, and unemployment rates. The income and substitution effects described in Gary Becker’s work provide the theoretical framework for this paper. The study includes annual data from 1960 to 1997, and uses linear regression analysis to examine the data. After controlling for the previously mentioned variables, this researcher expects to find a positive significant relationship between real wages for women and the labor force participation rates of women