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Children, Household Specialization and Relationship Quality

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  • Belén Rodríguez Moro

  • Olatz Román

Abstract

We investigate how having children impacts the quality of couples' relationships, a proxy of the non-material gains from being in a relationship. Using a novel measure of relationship quality (RQ), we perform a dynamic difference-in-differences estimation around the birth of the first child. We find a sharp and lasting decrease in RQ immediately after birth. We attribute this effect to changes in household specialization. Traditional gender-based specialization prevails after birth, regardless of the baseline distribution of tasks within the couple. Leveraging heterogeneous changes in household specialization after birth, we find that couples undergoing larger rearrangements also suffer larger RQ drops.

Suggested Citation

  • Belén Rodríguez Moro & Olatz Román, 2025. "Children, Household Specialization and Relationship Quality," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_719, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany, revised Apr 2026.
    • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_719
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

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