Gender differences in labor market effects of alcoholism

Abstract

Little is known about the role of specific health problems in affecting labor market productivity. Even less is known about gender differences in the labor market effects of such health problems. Current knowledge of health effects is based largely on samples composed exclusively of men, a common practice in both economics and health research. In the latter case, even a congressional mandate to incorporate females in study samples is reputed to have had little effect (Patricia Schroeder, 1990). In this study, we attempt to determine the structure of gender differences in labor market responses to alcoholism. We use a relatively new data source that allows such comparisons by gender in a large community-based sample. Previous studies have established that there are significant gender differences in labor market behavior. Differences in prevalence rates of alcoholism by gender are also well established. It is estimated that 3 percent of females are currently suffering from alcoholism and twice that many have exhibited symptoms at some time; for males the numbers are 10 and 20 percent, respectively. There is some medical evidence to indicate that physiologically, women and men respond differently to alcohol. For example, a recent study suggests that women have greater vulnerability to the acute and chronic health conditions associated with alcoholism (Mario Frezza et al., 1990).

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