The Menopause Penalty

Abstract

Menopause is a major biological shock to women, marking the end of their reproductive years. Despite its relevance, scant research has studied how menopause impacts social dynamics, labor market outcomes, or health care demand. Using high-quality linked national register administrative data from Norway and Sweden, combined with a stacked difference-in-differences design, we estimate the effect of menopause diagnosis on employment and earnings, reliance on social safety net programs, and demand for medical care. We find that menopause affects a broad swath of women's lives, ranging from a temporary increase in visits to doctors, to a persistent decline in full-time employment and earnings, and an increased receipt of social transfers. Our results suggest that policies aimed at supporting women who suffer more serious symptoms around the menopausal transition may have wide-ranging benefits. To understand the impacts of HRT use, we explore variation in information about access to therapy the airing of a TV show on menopause on the main Swedish TV public channel in October 2018. While the increase in the use of HRT is similar for both high and low educated women as a response to the airing of the program, there is suggestive evidence of improved earnings only among low education women.