Working Paper: NBER ID: w30606
Authors: Patricia Corts; Gizem Koar; Jessica Pan; Basit Zafar
Abstract: We study how peer beliefs shape individual attitudes toward maternal labor supply using realistic hypothetical scenarios that elicit recommendations on the labor supply choices of a mother with a young child and an information treatment embedded within representative surveys. Across the scenarios, we find that individuals systematically overestimate the extent of gender conservativeness of the people around them. Exposure to information on peer beliefs leads to a shift in recommendations, driven largely by information-based belief updating. The information treatment also increases (intended and actual) donations to a non-profit organization advocating for women in the workplace.
Keywords: gender norms; maternal labor supply; peer beliefs; information treatment
JEL Codes: J13; J16; J20; J22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| exposure to peer information (C92) | changes in individual attitudes toward maternal labor supply (J22) |
| correcting misperceptions (D91) | shifts in first-order beliefs about women's labor supply (J29) |
| exposure to information about peers' recommendations (C92) | shift in respondents' first-order beliefs (D80) |
| mother earns less than father (J12) | more likely to recommend that the mother take time off work (J22) |
| mother earns more than father (J12) | less likely to recommend that the mother take time off work (J22) |
| individuals systematically overestimate the conservativeness of gender norms (J16) | affects their recommendations regarding maternal labor supply (J22) |
| respondents' second-order beliefs are significantly more conservative than their first-order beliefs (C92) | affects their recommendations regarding maternal labor supply (J22) |