An empirical analysis of the effect of the aggravated male employment environment on female marriage behavior in Japan

This paper examines the effect of the aggravated male employment environment on female marriage behavior in Japan. Using extensive individual data from Japanfs Employment Status Survey, I conduct an empirical analysis on the effect of increase in the male irregular employee rate, in terms of designation, on the single-female rate. The results show that decreasing male regular employment rate and increasing male irregular employment rate have significant positive effects on the rising single-female rate. The effect persists even when the mean of the distribution of male wage is controlled for. Furthermore, the increasing in the male irregular employment rate, regardless of the employment contract period, also has a significant positive effect on the rising single-female rate. These results suggest that the characteristics of Japanfs dual labor market affect female marriage behavior. Thus, policies that can improve the income security of low-income males and promote a shift from irregular to regular employment are likely to raise the female marriage rate.