Total work and gender: Facts and possible explanations

Michael Burda, Daniel Hamermesh and Philippe Weil

No 2012-007, SFB 649 Discussion Papers from Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk

Abstract: Time-diary data from 27 countries show a negative relationship between real GDP per capita and female-male differences in total work time-work for pay and work at home. In rich non-Catholic countries on four continents men and women do about the same average amount of total work. Survey results demonstrate, however, that labor economists, macroeconomists, sociologists and the general public believe that women work more. The widespread average equality does not arise from gender differences in the price of time, from intra-family bargaining or from spousal complementarity. Several theories, including ones based on social norms, might explain these findings and are consistent with cross-national evidence from the World Values Surveys and sets of microeconomic data from Australia and Germany.

Keywords: time use; gender differences; household production; paid work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Related works:
Journal Article: Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations (2013)
Working Paper: Total work and gender facts and possible explanations (2012)
Working Paper: Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations (2012)
Working Paper: Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations (2012)
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