In standard labour supply-demand models, general-equilibrium wage reductions attenuate the employment effects that would follow from partial-equilibrium supply-side effects (increased labour force participation), as stressed by Rothstein ([2008], [2010]).
The extent to which we might interpret this as a positive outcome of the reforms depends on the relative weights we give to the twin objectives of reducing benefit expenditures and increasing labour force participation.
Increased labour force participation among women increased both economic freedom and exposure to cigarette smoking (Collins 2004).
Additionally in South Africa, the labour supply effects are in the opposite direction of increased labour force participation among a section of household members, namely adolescents and women [ 54].
This exercise shows that an increased labour force participation can offset some labour market sideeffects of population ageing, at least within a couple of decades.
In addition, over the past few decades women's increased labour force participation, their access to higher education, and an evolving family structure have altered social roles considerably.
With the increasing labour force participation among women in European countries, the likelihood that women will be exposed to a variety of chemical, physical and psychological risk factors at work during pregnancy will also increase (Linos and Kirch, 2008).
For example, it would be useful to track changes in the prevalence of each type of network to see if these correspond to social transformations (such as urbanisation and increased labour force participation of women).
The role for government in supporting the wider uptake of the management or prevention of mental health conditions, can well be justified when the savings in terms of increased labour force participation and the associated avoidance of taxation revenue loss and increased disability payments outlined in this paper are considered.
Over the past decades, women's increased labour force participation and changing family structure, among other changes in the socio-economic environment, have altered social roles considerably and lead one to expect that the pattern of disparities in health among women and men will also have changed.
