Essays in demographic, health and labor economics

A simultaneous equation model of spousal time allocation. Given the complexity of spousal arrangements regarding market work and housework that have emerged, time allocation by an individual within a family unit can no longer be treated as independent, albeit Joint spousal decision making has not been properly modeled in the time-allocation literature. Accordingly, I develop a theoretical model which explains optimal time allocation of a typical dual-earner household which accounts for both interindividual and interactivity simultaneity. The model is then estimated using a full information maximum likelihood technique with data from the 1983 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.; Male and female labor supply: Revisited. In estimating individual labor supply functions, labor economists have formulated various ways of obtaining reservations wages for individuals who do not participate in the labor market. There has been no attempt, however, to use information on time allocation to household services, and the value of these services, in determining the reservation wage. It has been shown that for individuals participating in market work, housework and leisure, observed wages and labor supply provide information on the value of time in housework and leisure and the allocation of time to these activities conveys valuable insight into the value of time in the labor market. In this essay, I estimate individual labor supply from a different perspective in which imputed wages are estimated with the inclusion of information on household production.; Demand for health care by gender under different functional forms. While the health economics literature provides fruitful information on health care demand by gender, little attention is paid to issues of functional form in estimating the demand function. Accordingly, in the third essay I estimate demand equations under different specifications, namely, linear, doublelog and the almost-ideal-demand-system. The diversity of estimates, especially price and income elasticities, obtained from the various specifications are discussed and compared. I also extend the literature on medical care utilization by incorporating major components of spending as separate demands in a system of medical care spending.