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The Intra-household Division of Labor – An Empirical Analysis of Spousal Influences on Individual Time Allocation

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  • Bredtmann, Julia

Abstract

Regarding total working hours, including both paid and unpaid labor, hardly any differences between German men and women exist. However, whereas men allocate most of their time to market work, women still do most of the non-market work. Using the German Time Use Surveys 1991/92 and 2001/02, this paper aims to analyze the interactions between the time use decisions of partners within one household. Thereby, an interdependent model of the partners' times allocated to paid and unpaid work that allows for simultaneity and endogeneity of the time allocation decisions of the spouses is applied. The results suggest that male time in market and non-market work is unaffected by their wife's time use, while women adjust their time allocation to the time schedule of their partner. These findings might partly explain why in Germany - and other European countries as well - gender differences in employment and wages still persist.

Suggested Citation

  • Bredtmann, Julia, 2010. "The Intra-household Division of Labor – An Empirical Analysis of Spousal Influences on Individual Time Allocation," Ruhr Economic Papers 200, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:200
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    3. Punyabeet Sarangi & M. Manoj, 2022. "Analysis of activity participation and time use decisions of partners: the context of low-and high-income households," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 1017-1058, June.
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    5. Baktash, Mehrzad B. & Heywood, John S. & Jirjahn, Uwe, 2023. "Does Performance Pay Increase the Risk of Marital Instability?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1305, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. 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.
    7. Bachmann, Ronald & Baumgarten, Daniel & Kröger, Hanna & Schaffner, Sandra & Vorell, Matthias & Fertig, Michael, 2010. "Study on various aspects of labour market performance using micro data from the European Union Labour Force Survey," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 69936.
    8. Bachmann, Ronald & Beimann, Boris & Bredtmann, Julia & David, Peggy & Ehlert, Christoph & Kassenböhmer, Sonja & Schaffner, Sandra & Siemers, Lars, 2011. "Studies on flexicurity Lot 1: Study on various aspects of labour market performance using micro data from the European Union statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). Contract No. VC/2010/," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 72620.
    9. Fernando Rios-Avila & Abena D. Oduro & Luiza Nassif-Pires, 2021. "Intrahousehold Allocation of Household Production: A Comparative Analysis for Sub-Saharan African Countries," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_983, Levy Economics Institute.
    10. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intra-household division of labor; time allocation; structural equation model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • C34 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models

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