Hours Constraints, Occupational Choice, and Gender: Evidence from Medical Residents

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wasserman, Melanie
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdac042
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 1535-1568
• 关键词: work hours; specialty choice; TRENDS; physicians; attrition; career; gap; sex; mortality; pregnancy

摘要

Do the long work hours required by many high-paying professions inhibit the entry of women? I investigate this question by studying a 2003 policy that capped the average workweek for medical residents at 80 hours. Using data on the universe of US medical school graduates, I find that when a specialty reduces its weekly hours, more women enter the specialty, whereas there is little change in men's entry. I provide evidence that the increase in women is due to changes in labour supply, rather than labour demand. At the residency program level, I document that baseline female representation predicts female entry after the reform. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the reallocation of women among medical specialties due to the hours reduction can close the physician gender wage gap by 11%.