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Reconsidering the relationship between home appliance ownership and married women’s labor supply: Evidence from Brazil

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  • Kirstin Munro

    (Department of Economics, New School For Social Research, USA)

Abstract

A body of literature in conventional labor economics contends with multiple endogeneity concerns inexamining the impact of purportedly labor-saving home appliances on married women’s labor force participation. However, this literature largely overlooks insights from feminist research. Using 1991-2010 microdata for Brazil, I question the way earlier studies have interpreted the relationship between household appliance ownership and female labor force participation. My results for Brazil are similar in magnitude to those using 1960-1970 microdata for the United States. However, I obtain this same result when televisions — not straightforwardly a “labor-saving appliance” — are substituted for clothes washing machines in the model. A result with a stronger causal interpretation, relying on variations in the proportion of women employed in household services, suggests a negative relationship between washing machines and women’s labor force participation. I conclude there is not sufficient evidence to claim home appliances cause increases in married women’s labor force participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirstin Munro, 2025. "Reconsidering the relationship between home appliance ownership and married women’s labor supply: Evidence from Brazil," Working Papers 2509, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:new:wpaper:2509
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Women’s labor force participation; household technology; domestic labor; Brazil;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B54 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Feminist Economics
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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