IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/izalpo/v5y2016i1d10.1186_s40173-016-0074-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sharing housework between husbands and wives: how to improve marital satisfaction for working wives in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Mayu Kobayashi

    (JA Bank Aichi)

  • Miki Kobayashi

    (Saga University)

  • Tsunao Okumura

    (Yokohama National University)

  • Emiko Usui

    (Hitotsubashi University and IZA)

Abstract

This paper examines whether and how the marital satisfaction of Japanese couples is related to the housework the spouse performs. For single-earner couples, both husbands and wives are more satisfied with the other spouse if the wife performs the greater share of the housework on weekdays. In dual-earner couples, both husbands and wives experience higher spousal satisfaction when the other spouse performs more housework on weekdays. Japanese dual-earner couples are unable to spend more time on housework, because wives are already performing a significant share of housework on weekdays while husbands are working long hours. JEL Classification: J12, J22

Suggested Citation

  • Mayu Kobayashi & Miki Kobayashi & Tsunao Okumura & Emiko Usui, 2016. "Sharing housework between husbands and wives: how to improve marital satisfaction for working wives in Japan," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izalpo:v:5:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1186_s40173-016-0074-9
    DOI: 10.1186/s40173-016-0074-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40173-016-0074-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40173-016-0074-9?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. Patricia Cortés & José Tessada, 2011. "Low-Skilled Immigration and the Labor Supply of Highly Skilled Women," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 88-123, July.
    2. Julia Bredtmann, 2014. "The Intra-household Division of Labor: An Empirical Analysis of Spousal Influences on Individual Time Allocation," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 28(1), pages 1-39, March.
    3. Leslie S. Stratton, 2012. "The Role of Preferences and Opportunity Costs in Determining the Time Allocated to Housework," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 606-611, May.
    4. Manser, Marilyn & Brown, Murray, 1980. "Marriage and Household Decision-Making: A Bargaining Analysis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 21(1), pages 31-44, February.
    5. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2008. "Transitions: Career and Family Life Cycles of the Educational Elite," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 363-369, May.
    6. Usui, Emiko, 2008. "Job satisfaction and the gender composition of jobs," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 23-26, April.
    7. Elena G. F. Stancanelli & Leslie S. Stratton, 2014. "Maids, Appliances and Couples' Housework: The Demand for Inputs to Domestic Production," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(323), pages 445-467, July.
    8. Jean Kimmel & Rachel Connelly, 2007. "Mothers’ Time Choices: Caregiving, Leisure, Home Production, and Paid Work," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(3).
    9. Rachel Connelly & Jean Kimmel, 2009. "Spousal influences on parents’ non-market time choices," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 361-394, December.
    10. Hans Bloemen & Silvia Pasqua & Elena Stancanelli, 2010. "An empirical analysis of the time allocation of Italian couples: are they responsive?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 345-369, September.
    11. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Jungmin Lee, 2007. "Stressed Out on Four Continents: Time Crunch or Yuppie Kvetch?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(2), pages 374-383, May.
    12. Shelly J. Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak & Terence J. Wales, 1997. "Do Husbands and Wives Pool Their Resources? Evidence from the United Kingdom Child Benefit," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(3), pages 463-480.
    13. Hans Bloemen & Elena Stancanelli, 2014. "Market hours, household work, child care, and wage rates of partners: an empirical analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 51-81, March.
    14. Patricia Cortés & Jessica Pan, 2013. "Outsourcing Household Production: Foreign Domestic Workers and Native Labor Supply in Hong Kong," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 327-371.
    15. Ueda, Atsuko, 2005. "Intrafamily time allocation of housework: evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, March.
    16. Abe, Yukiko, 2011. "The Equal Employment Opportunity Law and labor force behavior of women in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 39-55, March.
    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. Wen Li & Kunio Urakawa & Fumihiko Suga, 2023. "Are Social Norms Associated with Married Women’s Labor Force Participation? A Comparison of Japan and the United States," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 193-205, March.

    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. Gigi Foster & Leslie S. Stratton, 2018. "Do significant labor market events change who does the chores? Paid work, housework, and power in mixed-gender Australian households," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 483-519, April.
    2. Catherine Sofer & Claire Thibout, 2019. "Women’s investment in career and the household division of labour," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(60), pages 6535-6557, December.
    3. Julia Bredtmann, 2014. "The Intra-household Division of Labor: An Empirical Analysis of Spousal Influences on Individual Time Allocation," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 28(1), pages 1-39, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Amaia Altuzarra & Catalina Gálvez-Gálvez & Ana González-Flores, 2020. "Do Spanish Dual-Earner Couples Share Unpaid Work Equally?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 731-763, August.
    6. Simon Chang & Rachel Connelly & Ping Ma, 2016. "What Will You Do If I Say ‘I Do’?: The Effect of the Sex Ratio on Time Use within Taiwanese Married Couples," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(4), pages 471-500, August.
    7. J. Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Molina, 2013. "Parents’ education as a determinant of educational childcare time," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 719-749, April.
    8. Hans Bloemen & Elena Stancanelli, 2014. "Market hours, household work, child care, and wage rates of partners: an empirical analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 51-81, March.
    9. Nazier, Hanan & Ezzat, Asmaa, 2022. "Gender differences and time allocation: A comparative analysis of Egypt and Tunisia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 174-193.
    10. Gigi Foster & Leslie Stratton, 2017. "Do Significant Labour Market Events Change Who Does the Laundry? Work, chore allocation, and power in Australian households," Discussion Papers 2017-06, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    11. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2011. "Commuting Time and Labour Supply: A Causal Effect?," IZA Discussion Papers 5529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. José Giménez-Nadal & Miriam Marcén & Raquel Ortega, 2012. "Substitution and Presence Effects of Children on Mothers’ Adult Care Time," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 2-10, March.
    13. Ali Fakih & Walid Marrouch, 2014. "Who hires foreign domestic workers? evidence from Lebanon," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 48(3), pages 339-352, July-Sept.
    14. Andreassen, Leif & Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Maccagnan, Anna, 2015. "Do Men Care? Men’s Supply Of Unpaid Labour," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201545, University of Turin.
    15. Schaubert, Marianna, 2018. "Do Alimony Regulations Matter inside Marriage? Evidence from the 2008 Reform of the German Maintenance Law," EconStor Preprints 173193, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    16. Schaubert, Marianna, 2018. "Do Alimony Regulations Matter inside Marriage? Evidence from the 2008 Reform of the German Maintenance Law," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181508, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina & Yu Zhu, 2018. "Intergenerational mobility of housework time in the United Kingdom," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 911-937, December.
    18. John Mullahy & Stephanie Robert, 2010. "No time to lose: time constraints and physical activity in the production of health," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 409-432, December.
    19. Tien Manh Vu, 2019. "Home Appliances And Gender Gap Of Time Spent On Unpaid Housework: Evidence Using Household Data From Vietnam," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(01), pages 97-114, March.
    20. Ali Fakih & Pascal L. Ghazalian, 2013. "Female Labour Force Participation in MENA's Manufacturing Sector: The Implications of Firm-related and National Factors," CIRANO Working Papers 2013s-46, CIRANO.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; Housework/division of labor; Satisfaction; Time use; Wives’ employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    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:spr:izalpo:v:5:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1186_s40173-016-0074-9. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.