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Marriage, Housework and Fairness

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Listed author(s):
  • Widmalm, Frida

    (Department of Economics)

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    Abstract

    I explore the effects of a preference for fairness in the division of housework between two spouses in two different models of household time allocation. Both in the model with agreeing spouses and the model with noncooperative spouses, such a preference has an equalising effect on the division of labour between the partners. In the noncooperative setting, the wife gets better off and the husband worse off in terms of private consumption. I also argue that both the allocation process and the degree of fairness consideration matter for policy outcomes and discuss three policy measures in relation to these two factors.

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    File URL: http://www.nek.uu.se/pdf/1998wp22.pdf
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    Paper provided by Uppsala University, Department of Economics in its series Working Paper Series with number 1998:22.

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    Length: 39 pages
    Date of creation: 15 Oct 1998
    Handle: RePEc:hhs:uunewp:1998_022
    Contact details of provider: Postal:
    Department of Economics, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

    Phone: + 46 18 471 25 00
    Fax: + 46 18 471 14 78
    Web page: http://www.nek.uu.se/
    Email:


    More information through EDIRC

    Keywords: Fairness; housework; unpaid work; household production; household time allocation;

    Find related papers by JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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    16. Agell, Jonas & Lundborg, Per, 1995. " Theories of Pay and Unemployment: Survey Evidence from Swedish Manufacturing Firms," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(2), pages 295-307, June.
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    18. Shelley Phipps & Peter Burton, 1995. "Social/institutional variables and behavior within households: An empirical test using the Luxembourg income study," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 151-174.
    19. Rabin, Matthew, 1993. "Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1281-1302, December.
    20. Jane H. Leuthold, 1968. "An Empirical Study of Formula Income Transfers and the Work Decision of the Poor," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 3(3), pages 312-323.
    21. Konrad, Kai A & Lommerud, Kjell Erik, 1995. " Family Policy with Non-cooperative Families," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 581-601, December.
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