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The male breadwinner norm in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Kauany de Souza

    (University of São Paulo)

  • Fabiana Rocha

    (University of São Paulo)

  • Pedro Forquesato

    (University of São Paulo)

Abstract

In this paper we provide evidence of the male breadwinner norm, a cultural norm that establishes that "a man should earn more than his wife". First we show that there is a large discontinuity in the relative intra-household earnings distribution at the 50% threshold. Then we argue that the male breadwinner norm is responsible for it by empirically rejecting alternative explanations, such as marriage between co-workers or self-employed, misreporting, and assortative matching. We conclude that the social norm effectively is a main driver of the high gender inequality observed in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Kauany de Souza & Fabiana Rocha & Pedro Forquesato, 2023. "The male breadwinner norm in Brazil," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(4), pages 1759-1770.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-23-00215
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Estefanía Galván, 2022. "Gender Identity and Quality of Employment," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 409-436, April.
    2. Ariel J. Binder & David Lam, 2022. "Is There a Male-Breadwinner Norm? The Hazards of Inferring Preferences from Marriage Market Outcomes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(6), pages 1885-1914.
    3. McCrary, Justin, 2008. "Manipulation of the running variable in the regression discontinuity design: A density test," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 698-714, February.
    4. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    5. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    6. Natalia Zinovyeva & Maryna Tverdostup, 2021. "Gender Identity, Coworking Spouses, and Relative Income within Households," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 258-284, October.
    7. Han Dongcheng & Kong Fanbo & Wang Zixun, 2021. "Gender identity and relative income within household: Evidence from China," Papers 2110.08723, arXiv.org.
    8. Karen Codazzi & Valéria Pero & André Albuquerque Sant'Anna, 2018. "Social norms and female labor participation in Brazil," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1513-1535, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    male breadwinner; household earnings; gender inequality.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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