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Spousal age gap and identity and their impact on the allocation of housework

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  • Eiji Yamamura

    (Seinan Gakuin University)

  • Yoshiro Tsutsui

    (Konan University)

Abstract

This study investigates how spousal age gaps influence the allocation of housework between husbands and wives. Further, we consider the identity formed as a result of respondents’ family backgrounds by exploring the effects of the age gaps between the respondents’ parents. We collected an individual-level panel dataset for 3 years through monthly surveys, covering the periods before and after marriage. All respondents were not married at the initial period when they participated in the survey, but got married during the study period. After controlling for individual- and time period-fixed effects, the key findings are as follows: (1) after marriage, relatively older women tend to become burdened with a larger amount of housework; (2) women with relatively older mothers tend to assume a larger allocation of the housework; and (3) these age gaps hardly affect the men’s allocation of housework, although men with a mother working full time at age 15 assume a larger allocation of housework.

Suggested Citation

  • Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2021. "Spousal age gap and identity and their impact on the allocation of housework," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 1059-1083, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:60:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-019-01785-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-019-01785-3
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    Cited by:

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    2. Eiji Yamamura & Giorgio Brunello, 2023. "Effect of grandchildren on the happiness of grandparents: Does the grandparent's child's gender matter?," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 37(2), pages 149-163, June.
    3. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsustsui, 2021. "The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 41-60, March.
    4. Giorgio Brunello & Eiji Yamamura, 2023. "Reciprocity and the matrilineal advantage in European grand-parenting," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 397-433, June.
    5. YAMAMURA, Eiji & Tsutsui, Yoshiro, 2020. "Impact of closing schools on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence using panel data from Japan," MPRA Paper 105023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Brunello, Giorgio & Yamamura, Eiji, 2021. "With a Little Help from My Mother. The Matrilineal Advantage in European Grand Parenting," IZA Discussion Papers 14379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Spousal age gaps; Housework allocation; Intra-household bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

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