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Child Penalties and the Gender Gap in Home Production and the Labor Market

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  • Koopmans, Pim

    (Leiden University)

  • van Lent, Max

    (Leiden University)

  • Been, Jim

    (University of Leiden)

Abstract

The consequence of the arrival of children for the gender wage gap - known as the child penalty - is substantial and has been documented for many countries. Little is still known about the impact of having children beyond paid work in the labor market, such as home production. In this paper we estimate - deploying an event study with Dutch survey data - the child penalty in both home production and the labor market. In line with the literature we find no labor market effects for men. For women we find a strong reduction in work hours and lower wages. However, we find an increase in home production for women roughly similar to the decline in paid work. Consequently, time allocated to the labor market plus home production is roughly equal across gender before and after the arrival of children. This result rejects the hypothesis that women substitute paid work for leisure after the arrival of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Koopmans, Pim & van Lent, Max & Been, Jim, 2024. "Child Penalties and the Gender Gap in Home Production and the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 16871, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16871
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender gaps; child penalty; intra-household allocation; event study; home production;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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