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Author: McNamara, Justine M.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. McNamara, Justine M.
Long-Term Disadvantage among Elderly Women: The Effects of Work History
Social Service Review 81,3 (September 2007): 423-452.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1086/520562
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Welfare; Well-Being; Work History

Despite the emphasis in U.S. social policy on the role of work in addressing poverty and disadvantage for young women, little research focuses on the long-term benefits of work to women. This study focuses on the effects of work history and other factors on the economic well-being of elderly women who had low income in midlife. It uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women (NLSMW) and spans the years from 1967 to 1999. Results suggest that if other factors are controlled, the amount of work low-income women do in midlife has little effect on their economic well-being in old age. Job characteristics, such as whether one is employed in a unionized setting and the availability of a pension plan, do have a positive effect on economic well-being in old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bibliography Citation
McNamara, Justine M. "Long-Term Disadvantage among Elderly Women: The Effects of Work History." Social Service Review 81,3 (September 2007): 423-452.
2. McNamara, Justine M.
Long-Term Poverty Among Older Women: The Effects of Work in Midlife
Ph.D. Dissertation, Bryn Mawr College, September 2004. DAI-A 65/03, p. 1120, Sep 2004
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Young Women
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Economic Well-Being; Economics of Gender; Income; Income Level; Poverty; Work History

Existing research on links between lifecourse events and later life economic well-being does not tend to emphasize the continuity of poverty and disadvantage among older adults. This study focuses on long-term economic hardship among older women, examining the effects of work history and other factors on the later life economic well-being of women who had low income in midlife. Data for this study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women (NLSMW), and spanned the years 1967–1999. A sample of 2915 women was drawn from the NLSMW, with just over one third of this sample having had income below 200% of the poverty line in midlife. When controlling for other factors which affect later life income, I found that the amount of work low income women did in midlife had little effect on their later life economic outcomes, although job characteristics such as unionization and the availability of fringe benefits, did have a positive effect on later life economic well-being. For women who had higher income at midlife, however, hours worked in midlife, irrespective of job characteristics, often had a positive impact on later life economic well-being.
Bibliography Citation
McNamara, Justine M. Long-Term Poverty Among Older Women: The Effects of Work in Midlife. Ph.D. Dissertation, Bryn Mawr College, September 2004. DAI-A 65/03, p. 1120, Sep 2004.