Time Use of Mothers and Fathers in Hard Times and Better Times: The US Business Cycle of 2003-10

Günseli Berik and Ebru Kongar

Economics Working Paper Archive from Levy Economics Institute

Abstract: The US economic crisis and recession of 2007-09 accelerated the convergence of women's and men's employment rates as men experienced disproportionate job losses and women's entry into the labor force gathered pace. Using the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data for 2003-10, this study examines whether the narrowing gap in paid work over this period was mirrored in unpaid work, personal care, and leisure time. We find that the gender gap in unpaid work followed a U-pattern, narrowing during the recession but widening afterward. Through segregation analysis, we trace this U-pattern to the slow erosion of gender segregation in housework and, through a standard decomposition analysis of time use by employment status, show that this pattern was mainly driven by movement toward gender-equitable unpaid hours of women and men with the same employment status. In addition, gender inequality in leisure time increased over the business cycle.

Keywords: Economics of Gender; Unemployment; Time Use; Economic Crises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J16 J22 J6 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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