Analysing Labour Supply in a Lifestyle Perspective

Traditional labour supply theories stress economic variables as unemployment and wages to explain differences in labour supply behaviour. Nowadays a number of trends can be observed in the literature about labour supply theory and modelling: the integration of market-based and power based perspectives; the realization that social and cultural 'non-economic' factors influence economic functioning and the increasing importance to space. In this paper a concept will be presented, which contributes to the operationalization of these new perspectives in regional labour supply modelling: the life-style concept. Life-style is the relative importance to different careers and can be considered as a latent variable. Life-style groups are formed based on similar life-course patterns. These groups have different goals and choose a specific organizational framework in line with these goals. Various back-ground characteristics of persons are assumed to determine the life-style category someone belongs to. In this paper a review is made of the theory of the concept and its use in spatial research on the labour market. The life-style concept that will be used to model labour supply is specified and operationalized.