Taxes, Childcare, and Gender Identity Norms

Andrea Ichino, Martin Olsson, Barbara Petrongolo and Peter Skogman Thoursie

Journal of Labor Economics, 2026, vol. 44, issue 2, 553 - 586

Abstract: We investigate the role of gender norms in shaping parental childcare following changes in the relative take-home pay of mothers and fathers. Exploiting variation from Swedish tax reforms, we estimate the elasticity of substitution in parental childcare for native and immigrant couples from a variety of countries characterized by varying gender norms. Couples originating from countries with relatively conservative norms are more likely to reallocate childcare to mothers following a reduction in the father’s tax rate and less likely to reallocate childcare to fathers following a reduction in the mother’s tax rate, thereby reinforcing a traditional allocation of childcare across parents.

Date: 2026
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