The Effect of An Aging Population on the Labor Force Participation of Women in the United States

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to discover how the aging population of women in the United States has affected the overall female labor force participation. Using the Ordinary Least Squares regression model, and controlling for other variables such as race, marital status, the number of children under 5 in the household, region, and education, it was found that the oldest age group measured, 65-79-years-old, had a significant negative impact on the labor force participation. As time went on, and the population share of this age group increased, the negative impact that being in the 65-79-year-old age group has on labor force participation has significantly increased.