Gender Norms and Housework Time Allocation among Dual-Earner Couples
- Author : Jisoo Hwang, Chulhee Lee, and Esther Lee
- Journal : Labour Economics / 57 (2019), 102-116
Abstract
This paper studies the effect of parental gender norms on the allocation of house-hold work among dual-earner couples. Using regional variation in the strength of son preference in Korea, we proxy parental gender norms with sex ratio at birth in one's birthplace (POB SRB). We find that both the total and the wife's housework time increase when the husband is from a province with higher sex ratio at birth, whereas the husband's housework time is unaffected by the couple's POB SRB. We explore potential mechanisms, including human capital accumulation, preference for household production, and selection in the marriage market.