Separate Housework Spheres

Jonas Jessen, Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch (), Felix Weinhardt () and Jan Berkes ()
Additional contact information
Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch: Humboldt University Berlin
Felix Weinhardt: European University Viadrina, Frankfurt / Oder
Jan Berkes: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

No 17134, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using novel time-use data from Germany before and after reunification, we document two facts: First, spouses who both work full-time exhibit similar housework patterns whether they do so voluntarily or due to a full-time mandate, as in the GDR. Second, men's amount of housework is independent of their spouse's labour supply. We theoretically explain this pattern by the presence of two household goods and socially learned gender-specific comparative advantage in their home production. We label this gender specialisation as separate housework spheres. Empirical evidence strongly confirms separate housework spheres in the GDR, West Germany, subsequent years post-reunification, and in international time-use data across 17 countries since the 1970s. We consider several implications, such as those for child penalties, where separate housework spheres provide a novel explanation for why it is the mothers whose labour market outcomes strongly deteriorate upon the arrival of children.

Keywords: gender; household allocation of time; norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 66 pages
Date: 2024-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen, nep-his and nep-lab
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Working Paper: Separate Housework Spheres (2024)
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