ABSTRACT
Models of labor force participation have long recognized that the value of time in the home is one of the factors affecting individual labor supply. Most models concentrate on marital status and presence of children as factors influencing value of time and, therefore, labor force participation. According to a general equilibrium theory of marriage, the value of time in the home includes as one of its components a quasi-wage w*, the material compensation associated with being a spouse which is influenced by marriage market conditions. As w* is a variable proportion of the income of the other spouse (let us say the husband), the proportion of husband's income enjoyed by the wife depends on the individual traits of husband and wife, and on conditions in the marriage market. Individual traits influence value of time in the home in part through the mechanism of compensating differentials.
