Gender: An Historical Perspective

Paola Giuliano

No 10931, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Social attitudes toward women vary significantly across societies. This chapter reviews recent empirical research on various historical determinants of contemporary differences in gender roles and gender gaps across societies, and how these differences are transmitted from parents to children and therefore persist until today. We review work on the historical origin of differences in female labor-force participation, fertility, education, marriage arrangements, competitive attitudes, domestic violence, and other forms of difference in gender norms. Most of the research illustrates that differences in cultural norms regarding gender roles emerge in response to specific historical situations, but tend to persist even after the historical conditions have changed. We also discuss the conditions under which gender norms either tend to be stable or change more quickly.

Keywords: cultural transmission; historical persistence; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 N0 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2017-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-evo, nep-gro, nep-his, nep-ltv, nep-pke and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (45)

Published - published in:Susan L. Averett, Laura M. Argys, and Saul D. Hoffman (eds.), Oxford Handbook on the Economics of Women, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018, 645–672

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Working Paper: Gender: An Historical Perspective (2017)
Working Paper: Gender: An Historical Perspective (2017)
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