Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13769
Authors: Andrea Ichino; Martin Olsson; Barbara Petrongolo; Peter Skogman Thoursie
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of gender identity norms in shaping men's and women's time allocation, based on observed behavior following a change in the market penalty for adopting prescriptive norms. To perform this test, we study the reallocation of childcare across parents, following changes in their relative take-home pay. Exploiting variation from Swedish tax reforms, we estimate the elasticity of substitution in parental childcare for natives and immigrants from a variety of countries, characterized by varying gender norms. We find that couples originating from countries with relatively conservative norms are more likely to reallocate childcare across spouses following a reduction in the husband's tax rate, and less likely to reallocate childcare following a reduction in the wife's tax rate, thereby reinforcing a traditional allocation of childcare across parents.
Keywords: Home Production; Taxes; Gender Identity; Gender Gaps
JEL Codes: D13; H24; J22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Tax reforms (H29) | Childcare allocation (J13) |
| Reduction in husband's tax rate (H31) | Childcare reallocation (J13) |
| Reduction in wife's tax rate (H31) | Childcare reallocation (J13) |
| Gender identity norms (J16) | Childcare allocation (J13) |
| Cultural background (conservative norms) (Z13) | Childcare reallocation (J13) |
| Elasticity of substitution (parental inputs) (J22) | Childcare allocation (J13) |
| Cultural factors (Z10) | Household labor allocation decisions (D13) |