Time Allocation to Housework and Childcare in Japan

Huihui Li
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Huihui Li: Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University

No 2023, Discussion Papers from Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University

Abstract: This study examines whether the bargaining power affects a couple’s time allocation to housework and childcare by distribution factors in Japan, based on the “collective†model which assumes that the final distribution within the households should be Pareto-efficient. We estimate the function of household production time using micro-data from the Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities at two points in time (2011 and 2016), and examine the changes in and structure of the allocation of couples’ housework and childcare time. Four variables are considered in distribution factors: wife’s relative wage, wife’s relative age, wife’s relative education level, and male-to-female sex ratio in the region. Our results show that the collective approach can explain the Japanese intra-family time allocation. Specifically, we find that high wife’s relative wage reduces her own housework time and increases her husband’s housework time and childcare time. The effect of wife’s relative wage gets stronger in 2016. This study also shows that wife’s relative age is significant for explaining distribution factors. At the same time, it is inappropriate to take relative education as a distribution factor.

Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2020-12
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