IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jecsur/v24y2010i3p402-427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Is The Effect Of Housework On The Market Wage, And Can It Explain The Gender Wage Gap?

Author

Listed:
  • Sholeh A. Maani
  • Amy A. Cruickshank

Abstract

Does housework reduce the market wage, and if so, does it have a similar impact for males and females? In this paper, we survey and evaluate the recent and growing empirical literature on the linkages between housework and the wage rate. The review is motivated by unexplained gender wage gaps across studies, which consider personal and market‐related factors. We focus on this less‐studied aspect of wage determination. We consider the required modelling framework, and provide standardized estimated effects of housework on the hourly wage across studies. We evaluate how this literature has addressed potential estimation problems, in particular, the endogeneity of housework, concavity of the housework–wage function, threshold effects and work effort effects. We conclude that the evidence across ordinary least squares, instrumental variable, fixed effects and two‐stage least squares results casts serious doubt on the idea that the negative female housework–wage relationship is only driven by endogeneity bias or individual‐specific characteristics. Yet, much more needs to be done to address modelling and data requirements, and we point out likely and promising future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Sholeh A. Maani & Amy A. Cruickshank, 2010. "What Is The Effect Of Housework On The Market Wage, And Can It Explain The Gender Wage Gap?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 402-427, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jecsur:v:24:y:2010:i:3:p:402-427
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00586.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00586.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00586.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charlene Kalenkoski & David Ribar & Leslie Stratton, 2007. "The effect of family structure on parents’ child care time in the United States and the United Kingdom," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 353-384, December.
    2. Reuben Gronau & Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2008. "The Demand for Variety: A Household Production Perspective," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 562-572, August.
    3. Almudena Sevilla-Sanz & Mark L. Bryan, 2007. "Does Housework Lower Wages and Why? Evidence for Britain," Economics Series Working Papers 331, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Gronau, Reuben, 1988. "Sex-Related Wage Differentials and Women's Interrupted Labor Careers--The Chicken or the Egg," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(3), pages 277-301, July.
    5. Iiris Niemi, 1993. "Systematic error in behavioural measurement: Comparing results from interview and time budget studies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 229-244, November.
    6. Joni Hersch, 1991. "Male-Female Differences in Hourly Wages: The Role of Human Capital, Working Conditions, and Housework," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 44(4), pages 746-759, July.
    7. Ross A. Williams, 1999. "Wage Effects on the Volume of Unpaid Work in Nuclear Australian Households," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 91-105, June.
    8. Michele McLennan, 2000. "Does household labour impact market wages?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(12), pages 1541-1557.
    9. Joni Hersch & Leslie S. Stratton, 2002. "Housework and Wages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(1), pages 217-229.
    10. repec:bla:revinw:v:40:y:1994:i:4:p:433-56 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    12. Greg Hundley, 2001. "Why Women Earn Less Than Men in Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(4), pages 817-829, October.
    13. Hersch, Joni, 1991. "The Impact of Nonmarket Work on Market Wages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 157-160, May.
    14. Leslie S. Stratton, 2001. "Why Does More Housework Lower Women's Wages? Testing Hypotheses Involving Job Effort and Hours Flexibility," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 82(1), pages 67-76, March.
    15. Stephen Deloach & Annie Hoffman, 2002. "Russia's second shift: Is housework hurting women's wages?," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 30(4), pages 422-432, December.
    16. Kristen Keith & Paula Malone, 2005. "Housework and the Wages of Young, Middle‐Aged, and Older Workers," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 23(2), pages 224-241, April.
    17. Ross Williams & Sue Donath, 1994. "Simultaneous Uses Of Time In Household Production," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 40(4), pages 433-440, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:zbw:rwirep:0472 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Procher, Vivien & Ritter, Nolan & Vance, Colin, 2014. "Making Dough or Baking Dough? Spousal Housework Responsibilities in Germany, 1992-2011," Ruhr Economic Papers 472, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Boris Hirsch & Marion König & Joachim Möller, 2013. "Is There a Gap in the Gap? Regional Differences in the Gender Pay Gap," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(4), pages 412-439, September.
    4. Tamar Khitarishvili, 2018. "Gender Pay Gaps in the Former Soviet Union: A Review of the Evidence," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_899, Levy Economics Institute.
    5. Vivien Procher & Nolan Ritter & Colin Vance, 2014. "Making Dough or Baking Dough? Spousal Housework Responsibilities in Germany, 1992-2011," Ruhr Economic Papers 0472, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Tamar Khitarishvili, 2016. "Two tales of contraction: gender wage gap in Georgia before and after the 2008 crisis," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, December.
    7. Zhang, Cheng & Jian, Yaode & Zhou, Zhongsheng & Zhou, Bo, 2024. "Can the digital economy close the gender wage gap? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    8. Liu, Huanwen & Dong, Yanfang & Luo, Changfu, 2024. "Why do women bear more? The impact of energy poverty on son preference in Chinese rural households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    9. Agénor, Pierre-Richard & Canuto, Otaviano, 2015. "Gender equality and economic growth in Brazil: A long-run analysis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 155-172.
    10. Halldén, Karin & Stenberg, Anders, 2013. "The Relationship between Hours of Domestic Services and Female Earnings: Panel Register Data Evidence from a Reform," Working Paper Series 4/2013, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    11. Pagán, Ricardo, 2013. "Time allocation of disabled individuals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 80-93.
    12. Thorsten Konietzko, 2015. "Self-Employed Individuals, Time Use, and Earnings," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 64-83, March.
    13. Xiaoqing Ai & Ruyue Yang & Xiaolei Yang, 2024. "The Effect of the Spouse's Income on Employment Decisions - a Study Based on Gender Disparities Perspective," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7.
    14. Liangshu Qi & Xiao-Yuan Dong, 2013. "Housework Burdens, Quality of Market Work Time, and Men’s and Women’s Earnings in China," Departmental Working Papers 2013-01, The University of Winnipeg, Department of Economics.
    15. Caterina Manicardi & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2025. "Unpaid Working Time and Disproportionate Female Hazard: an Intersectionality Perspective," LEM Papers Series 2025/01, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    16. Evelyn Skoy, 2024. "Household impacts of child health shocks," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-28, March.
    17. Aaron Albert, 2018. "Parental duties, labor market behavior, and single fatherhood in America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1063-1083, December.
    18. Begoña Álvarez & Daniel Miles-Touya, 2019. "Gender imbalance in housework allocation: a question of time?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1257-1287, December.
    19. Niels Blom & Lynn Prince Cooke, 2024. "Wage Effects of Couples’ Divisions of Labour across the UK Wage Distribution," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(5), pages 1223-1243, October.
    20. Susan L. Averett & Cynthia Bansak & Julie K. Smith, 2021. "Behind Every High Earning Man is a Conscientious Woman: The Impact of Spousal Personality on Earnings and Marriage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 29-46, March.
    21. Boris Hirsch & Thorsten Konietzko, 2013. "The effect of housework on wages in Germany: no impact at all [Der Einfluss von Hausarbeit auf die Löhne in Deutschland]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(2), pages 103-118, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thorsten Konietzko, 2015. "Self-Employed Individuals, Time Use, and Earnings," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 64-83, March.
    2. Joni Hersch, 2009. "Home production and wages: evidence from the American Time Use Survey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 159-178, June.
    3. Boris Hirsch & Thorsten Konietzko, 2013. "The effect of housework on wages in Germany: no impact at all [Der Einfluss von Hausarbeit auf die Löhne in Deutschland]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(2), pages 103-118, August.
    4. Jens Bonke & Nabanita Datta Gupta & Nina Smith, 2004. "The Timing and Flexibility of Housework and Men and Women's Wages," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: The Economics of Time Use, pages 43-77, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Eleonora Matteazzi & Stefani Scherer, 2021. "Gender Wage Gap and the Involvement of Partners in Household Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(3), pages 490-508, June.
    6. Ponczek, Vladimir & Grezzana, Stefânia, 2012. "Gender Bias at the Brazilian Superior Labor Court," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 32(1), March.
    7. Das, Jayoti & De Loach, Stephen B., 2011. "Mirror, mirror on the wall: The effect of time spent grooming on earnings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 26-34, February.
    8. Zaiceva, Anzelika & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2010. "Do Ethnic Minorities "Stretch" Their Time? Evidence from the UK Time Use Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 4910, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Christopher Jepsen & Lisa K. Jepsen, 2015. "Labor-Market Specialization within Same-Sex and Difference-Sex Couples," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 109-130, January.
    10. Zaiceva, A., 2022. "Multitasking," MERIT Working Papers 2022-031, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2019. "Sexual orientation and the ‘cohabitation gap’ in life satisfaction in Canada," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1163-1189, December.
    12. Auspurg, Katrin & Iacovou, Maria & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2014. "Housework Share between Partners: Experimental Evidence on Gender Identity," IZA Discussion Papers 8569, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Anzelika Zaiceva & Klaus Zimmermann, 2011. "Do ethnic minorities “stretch” their time? UK household evidence on multitasking," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 181-206, June.
    14. Zaiceva-Razzolini, Anzelika, 2022. "Multitasking," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1173, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Tanja Fendel, 2021. "The Effect of Housework on Wages: A Study of Migrants and Native-Born Individuals in Germany," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 473-488, September.
    16. Jesper R.-V. Soerensen, 2020. "Testing a Class of Semi- or Nonparametric Conditional Moment Restriction Models using Series Methods," Discussion Papers 20-04, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    17. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Rickard Eriksson & Magnus Nermo, 2010. "Care for Sick Children as a Proxy for Gender Equality in the Family," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 97(3), pages 341-356, July.
    19. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    20. Christina Boll & Malte Jahn & Andreas Lagemann, 2017. "The gender lifetime earnings gap—exploring gendered pay from the life course perspective," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 25(1), pages 1-53, March.
    21. Sanjiv Gupta & Michael Ash, 2008. "Whose money, whose time? A nonparametric approach to modeling time spent on housework in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 93-120.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jecsur:v:24:y:2010:i:3:p:402-427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0950-0804 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.