蝌蚪网 Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Labor Supply and Entertainment Innovations: Evidence from the US TV Rollout
蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 1–28)
Abstract
We study the impact of entertainment technology on labor supply. Using Social Security work histories and a natural experiment arising from the regulated US rollout of television, we estimate that a station launch reduced the probability of working by around 0.3 percentage points, driven mainly by an increase in older-age-group retirement rates. The results support the hypothesis that television's rise contributed to the midcentury transition of retirement from a necessity to "golden years" of enjoyment. Our findings indicate that entertainment innovations have a less pronounced effect on overall labor supply trends than model calibrations in the previous literature suggest.Citation
Fenton, George, and Felix Koenig. 2025. "Labor Supply and Entertainment Innovations: Evidence from the US TV Rollout." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics 17 (4): 1–28. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230377Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J26 Retirement; Retirement Policies
- L82 Entertainment; Media
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-