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Berglund, Tomas, Jørgen Svalund, Tuomo Alasoini, Katrín Ólafsdóttir, Stine Rasmussen, Johan Røed Steen & Pekka Varje (2025): Gendered Labor Markets and Occupational Change in the Nordics. In: Nordic journal of working life studies, S. 1-23. DOI:10.18291/njwls.160118

Abstract

"Recent research on changes in the occupational structure in the Nordic region points in different directions. Some studies indicate upgrading of jobs with better quality, advanced skill requirements, and higher wages, while others show tendencies toward polarization in the skill distribution of jobs. The present article finds gendered patterns of upgrading or polarization in the occupational structure in the Nordic countries in the years 2012–2019. The changes in the occupational structure have been more beneficial for women, who increasingly occupy higher-level positions. Especially, the public sector has served as a vehicle for high-level female positions. While previous research has stressed technological change, especially digitalization as the primary driver of change, this article argues that developments in the public sector also need to be considered to fully understand occupational change in the Nordic region." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ellingsæter, Anne Lise & Ragni Hege Kitterød (2025): Towards more gender equal parental time allocation: Norway, 1980–2010. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2521059

Abstract

"Research indicates a converging trend in how mothers and fathers allocate their time across Western societies, leading to a narrowing of gender gaps. Our case study, spanning three decades in the social democratic welfare state of Norway, offers new insights into the long-term processes that might drive these gender convergence trends. Data for this study were drawn from time-use surveys conducted between 1980 and 2010. This exploration of changing time allocation differentiates between mothers and fathers at various stages of parenthood, across different time periods and examines time devoted to work (including paid work, unpaid work, and total workload) as well as non-work (such as leisure and personal needs/rest). The gradual but uneven removal of institutional and cultural constraints – facilitated by the strengthening of egalitarian earner-caregiver policies and norms – was accompanied by significant shifts in how successive Generations of parents allocated their time. Over the decades, mothers’ and fathers’ time allocation became more similar, particularly in the 2000s. Notably, the equalization of time use was especially prominent among parents of preschool-aged children. However, among these parents, the total workload increased, resulting in less leisure time for both mothers and fathers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kostøl, Fredrik B. & Elin Svarstad (2025): From bargaining to balance: How unions shape gender wage outcomes. In: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Jg. 236. DOI:10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107130

Abstract

"Women continue to earn less than men in OECD countries. Extensive research has explored various factors contributing to the gender wage gap. However, fewer studies have examined the impact of trade unions, despite their significant role in promoting equality. In this study, we exploit exogenous variation in tax scheme incentives for union members to identify the effect of trade unions on the gender wage gap in Norwegian private sector establishments. Using administrative register data on full-time private-sector workers in the period 2000–2014, we find that increases in union density reduce wage differences between women and men within establishments. A ten-percentage point increase in the workplace union density is estimated to reduce the gender wage gap by approximately 2.7 percentage points." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))

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Mogstad, Magne, Kjell G. Salvanes & Gaute Torsvik (2025): Income Equality in The Nordic Countries: Myths, Facts, and Lessons. (BFI Working Papers / University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics 2025,25), Chicago, 58 S. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.5133608

Abstract

"Policymakers, public commentators, and researchers often cite the Nordic countries as examples of a social and economic model that successfully combines low income inequality with prosperity and growth. This article aims to critically assess this claim by integrating theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence to illustrate how the Nordic model functions and why these countries experience low inequality. Our analysis suggests that income equality in the Nordics is primarily driven by a significant compression of hourly wages, reducing the returns to labor market skills and education. This appears to be achieved through a wage bargaining system characterized by strong coordination both within and across industries. This finding contrasts with other commonly cited explanations for Nordic income equality, such as redistribution through the tax-transfer system, public spending on goods that complement employment, and public policies aimed at equalizing skills and human capital distribution. We consider the potential lessons for other economies that seek to reduce income equality. We conclude by discussing several underexplored or unresolved questions and issues." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Wang, Buyi, Meredith Slopen, Irwin Garfinkel, Elizabeth Ananat, Sophie Collyer, Robert Paul Hartley, Anastasia Koutavas & Christopher Wimer (2025): The Benefits and Costs of Paid Parental Leave in the United States. In: Social Service Review, Jg. 99, H. 2, S. 258-297. DOI:10.1086/735565

Abstract

"To inform US policy debates about the introduction of a national paid leave program, we conduct a benefit-cost analysis of its introduction. We identify high-quality, quasi-experimental studies on the impact of paid parental leave on infants and parents. Using both the most conservative estimates and the mean estimates from this review, we estimate that every $1,000 investment in paid parental leave would generate, respectively, $7,251 and $29,369 in net social benefits. We use these estimates to conduct a microsimulation of the benefits and costs of two national paid parental leave policy proposals with variations in eligibility and wage replacement rates. The proposed national 4-week program’s initial fiscal cost would be under $2 billion and generate long-term net social benefits with a present discounted value of either $13 billion or $55 billion. The initial fiscal costs and long-term net social benefits of the 12-week program would be about 3.7 times larger." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chung, Heejung (2024): National family policies and the association between flexible working arrangements and work-to-family conflict across Europe. In: Journal of Family Research, Jg. 36, S. 229-249. DOI:10.20377/jfr-1002

Abstract

"Objective: This paper explores how national family policies moderate the association between flexible working arrangements and work-to-family conflict across countries. Background: Although flexible working is provided to enhance work-family integration, studies show that it can in fact increase work-to-family conflict. However, certain policy contexts can help moderate this association by introducing contexts that enable workers to use of flexible working arrangements to better meet their family and other life demands. Method: The paper uses the European Working Conditions Survey of 2015 including data from workers with caring responsibilities from across 30 European countries. It uses a multilevel cross-level interaction model to examine how family policies, such as childcare and parental leave policies, can explain the cross-national variation in the association between flexible working arrangements, that is flexitime, working-time autonomy, and teleworking, and work-to-family conflict. Results: At the European average, flexible working was associated with higher levels of work-to-family conflict for workers, with working-time-autonomy being worse for men’s, and teleworking being worse for women ’s conflict levels. In countries with generous childcare policies, flexitime was associated with lower levels of work-to-family conflict, especially for women. However, in countries with long mother’s leave, working-time-autonomy was associated with even higher levels of work-to-family conflict for men. Conclusion: The results of this paper evidence how flexible working arrangements need to be introduced in a more holistic manner with possible reforms of wider range of family policies in order for flexible working to meet worker’s work-family integration demands." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Corekcioglu, Gozde, Marco Francesconi & Astrid Kunze (2024): Expansions in paid parental leave and mothers’ economic progress. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 169. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104845

Abstract

"This paper investigates the impact of reforms extending paid parental leave on mothers’ progress to the upper echelons of their companies. Using employer–employee matched data and examining a series of reforms between 1987 and 2005 in Norway, we find that longer parental leave neither helped nor hurt mothers’ chances to be at the top of their companies’ pay ranking or in the C-suite up to 25 years after childbirth.This holds true also for highly educated women and high performers across all sectors. Key career determinants, such as hours worked and promotions, are unaffected in the short and long run. Finally, fathers’ career progression and within-household gender wage gaps have also remained unaltered." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Godechot, Olivier, Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, István Boza, Lasse Henriksen, Are Skeie Hermansen, Feng Hou, Naomi Kodama, Alena Křížková, Jiwook Jung, Zoltán Lippényi, Silvia Maja Melzer, Eunmi Mun, Halil Sabanci, Max Thaning, Dustin Avent-Holt, Nina Bandelj, Paula Apascaritei, Alexis Baudour, David Cort, Marta M. Elvira, Gergely Hajdu, Aleksandra Kanjuo-Mrčela, Joseph King, Andrew Penner, Trond Petersen, William Rainey, Mirna Safi, Matthew Soener & Andreja Poje (2024): The Great Separation: Top Earner Segregation at Work in Advanced Capitalist Economies. In: American journal of sociology, Jg. 130, H. 2, S. 439-495. DOI:10.1086/731603

Abstract

"Earnings segregation at work is an understudied topic in social science, despite the workplace being an everyday nexus for social mixing, cohesion, contact, claims-making, and resource exchange. It is all the more urgent to study as workplaces, in the last decades, have undergone profound reorganizations that could impact the magnitude and evolution of earnings segregation. Analyzing linked employer-employee panel administrative databases, we estimate the evolving isolation of higher earners from other employees in 12 countries: Canada, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, South Korea, and Sweden. We find in almost all countries a growing workplace isolation of top earners and dramatically declining exposure of top earners to bottom earners. We do a first exploration of the main factors accounting for this trend: deindustrialization, workplace downsizing restructuring (including layoffs, outsourcing, offshoring, and subcontracting) and digitalization contribute substantially to the increase in top earner segregation. These findings open up a future research agenda on the causes and consequences of top earner segregation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Harkko, Jaakko, Aino Salonsalmi, Noora A. Heinonen, Tea Lallukka & Anne Kouvonen (2024): Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors. In: Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, Jg. 50, H. 8, S. 631-640. DOI:10.5271/sjweh.4191

Abstract

"This study demonstrates that work-to-family conflicts and family-to-work conflicts are associated with sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees, particularly among health and social care employees. Supporting employees with mentally strenuous work and intervening health issues starting early on the career is needed in workplaces and in occupational health care." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Helgøy, Anna (2024): What sustains feminized part-time work at the gender equality frontier? Evidence from a vignette experiment. In: Journal of European Social Policy, Jg. 34, H. 5, S. 542-555. DOI:10.1177/09589287241290751

Abstract

"Feminized part-time work has been deemed a family policy conundrum yet to be solved by any welfare regime. To identify ways forward, this article examines structural drivers of part-time work decisions through a vignette experiment fielded in the gender-egalitarian context of Norway (N = 3500). Six theory-grounded factors are tested in this multidimensional, causal framework: partner income level, physical and cognitive household labor burdens, the presence of a part-time culture at the workplace, and consequences of part-time work for career advancement and future pensions. Results show that overall, factors that regulate individuals’ material self-interest (partner income, career and pension consequences) have the largest impact on working-time decisions. Additionally, a priming treatment is given with a split sample concerning the factor of cognitive household labor – the organizational dimension of household work. Results from sub-group analyzes show that non-primed respondents prefer significantly higher working hours when their cognitive labor burden is lower. Respondents who received experimental priming, however, portray the opposite behavior (lower working-hour preference when cognitive labor burden is low). The pattern is driven by women, whereas men are left largely unaffected by both the priming and vignette treatment of cognitive labor. Thus, robust findings imply that gender inequality in material circumstances sustains feminized part-time work patterns. Suggestive evidence further indicates that gender inequality in cognitive labor loads may also contribute to sustaining feminized part-time work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ikonen, Hanna-Mari, Minna Salminen-Karlsson & Gilda Seddighi (2024): Not just daycare: nordic mothers in research, development and innovation navigating work and childcare. In: Community, work & family, Jg. 27, H. 2, S. 208-224. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2022.2138739

Abstract

"Nordic welfare policies mitigate work–childcare reconciliation; however, they are not enough for mothers working in intensive work cultures. In addition, there are differences among the three Nordic states in both work–family policies and cultural norms as to how they should be used. In this article, we study the resources mothers who work in research, development and innovation (R&D&I) in Finland, Norway and Sweden rely on in their work–childcare reconciliation. Thematic analysis of interviews with 74 professionals resulted in identifying four main resources: father involvement, parental leave system and daycare, flexible working, and grandparent help and networks. Our analysis brings to view the blind spots in work and childcare reconciliation that Nordic care policies and flexible work schemes do not cover in the case of professional R&D&I mothers. We find that the role of fathers is overarching, as it regulates which of the other resources are used and how. We also argue that the role grandparents play as a resource is understudied." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rattsø, Jørn & Hildegunn E. Stokke (2024): Public sector wage compression and wage inequality: gender and geographic heterogeneity. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 76, H. 3, S. 722-740. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpad040

Abstract

"Studies of wage inequality concentrate on private wages. Public sector wages are typically assumed to contribute to the overall wage equality. We challenge this understanding in an analysis of the relative skill premium in the public versus private sectors. The analysis of heterogeneity across gender and geography is based on rich register data for Norway. The raw data confirm the relative wage compression in the public sector. However, this is a male phenomenon and only prevalent in large cities when unobserved worker and firm characteristics are taken into account. With identification based on shifters between private and public sectors and movers between city-size groups, wage setting for female workers in the public sector increases wage inequality in all regions, particularly in the periphery. The result is consistent with policies promoting the recruitment of high-educated female workers and the expansion of public services in the periphery counterbalancing the desired equality effect of public wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ager, Philipp, Marc Goñi & Kjell G. Salvanes (2023): Gender-Biased Technological Change: Milking Machines and the Exodus of Women from Farming. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 16347), Bonn, 100 S.

Abstract

"This paper studies the link between gender-biased technological change in the agricultural sector and structural transformation in Norway. After WWII, Norwegian farms began widely adopting milking machines to replace the hand milking of cows, a task typically performed by women. Combining population-wide panel data from the Norwegian registry with municipality-level data from the Census of Agriculture, we show that the adoption of milking machines triggered a process of structural transformation by displacing young rural women from their traditional jobs on farms in dairy-intensive municipalities. The displaced women moved to urban areas where they acquired a higher level of education and found better-paid employment. These findings are consistent with the predictions of a Roy model of comparative advantage, extended to account for task automation and the gender division of labor in the agricultural sector. We also quantify significant inter-generational effects of this gender-biased technology adoption. Our results imply that the mechanization of farming has broken deeply rooted gender norms, transformed women's work, and improved their long-term educational and earning opportunities, relative to men." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bar-Haim, Eyal, Louis Chauvel, Janet Gornick & Anne Hartung (2023): The Persistence of the Gender Earnings Gap: Cohort Trends and the Role of Education in Twelve Countries. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 165, H. 3, S. 821-841. DOI:10.1007/s11205-022-03029-x

Abstract

"Studying twelve countries over 30 years, we examine whether women's educational expansion has translated into a narrowing of the gender gap in earnings when including persons with zero earnings. As educational attainment is cohort-dependent, an Age-Period-Cohort analysis is most appropriate in our view. Using the micro data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database, we show that while, in terms of attainment of tertiary education, women have caught up and often even outperform men, substantial gender differences in our earnings measure persist in all countries. Using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method in an innovative age-period-cohort approach, we demonstrate that the role of education in explaining gender earnings differences has been limited and even decreased over cohorts. We also conclude that, when including persons not receiving earnings, earnings differences at levels far from gender equality will likely persist in the future, even if the “rise of women” in terms of education continues—as the share of women in higher education increases and the returns to education in particular for women declines." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Campaña, Juan Carlos, José Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & Jorge Velilla (2023): Measuring Gender Gaps in Time Allocation in Europe. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 165, H. 2, S. 519-553. DOI:10.1007/s11205-022-03026-0

Abstract

"This paper explores the gender gap in time allocation in European countries, offering a comparison of the 2000s and the 2010s, along with an explanation of the documented gender gaps, based on social norms and institutional factors. The results show that the gender gap in both paid and unpaid work has decreased in most countries, but with a significant level of cross-country heterogeneity in the size of the gender gaps. More traditional social norms are related to greater gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work, while countries with better family-friendly policies and a greater representation of women in politics and in the labour market exhibit smaller gender inequalities. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of gender gaps in Europe, and attempts to monitor the progress towards the elimination of gender inequalities. Despite that some degree of gender convergence in paid and unpaid work has taken place, there remain inequalities in the distribution of labour in European countries, and possible solutions may be related to social norms and family-friendly policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Kowalewska, Helen (2023): Gendered employment patterns: Women's labour market outcomes across 24 countries. In: Journal of European Social Policy, Jg. 33, H. 2, S. 151-168. DOI:10.1177/09589287221148336

Abstract

"An accepted framework for ‘gendering’ the analysis of welfare regimes compares countries by degrees of ‘defamilialization’ or how far their family policies support or undermine women’s employment participation. This article develops an alternative framework that explicitly spotlights women’s labour market outcomes rather than policies. Using hierarchical clustering on principal components, it groups 24 industrialized countries by their simultaneous performance across multiple gendered employment outcomes spanning segregation and inequalities in employment participation, intensity, and pay, with further differences by class. The three core ‘worlds’ of welfare (social-democratic, corporatist, liberal) each displays a distinctive pattern of gendered employment outcomes. Only France diverges from expectations, as large gender pay gaps across the educational divide – likely due to fragmented wage-bargaining – place it with Anglophone countries. Nevertheless, the outcome-based clustering fails to support the idea of a homogeneous Mediterranean grouping or a singular Eastern European cluster. Furthermore, results underscore the complexity and idiosyncrasy of gender inequality: while certain groups of countries are ‘better’ overall performers, all have their flaws. Even the Nordics fall behind on some measures of segregation, despite narrow participatory and pay gaps for lower- and high-skilled groups. Accordingly, separately monitoring multiple measures of gender inequality, rather than relying on ‘headline’ indicators or gender equality indices, matters." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Madsen, Aleksander Å., Idunn Brekke & Silje Bringsrud Fekjær (2023): Women's Attrition from Male-Dominated Workplaces in Norway: The Importance of Numerical Minority Status, Motherhood and Class. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 37, H. 2, S. 333-351. DOI:10.1177/09500170211004247

Abstract

"This study explores women’s attrition from male-dominated workplaces based on Norwegian public administrative records, covering individuals born 1945–1983, in the period between 2003 and 2013. It examines sex differences in rates of attrition and tests the significance of two commonly proposed explanations in the literature, namely the degree of numerical minority status and motherhood. It also investigates whether these explanations vary by occupational class. Selection into male-dominated workplaces is accounted for by using individual fixed effects models. The results show that attrition rates from male-dominated workplaces are considerably higher among women than among men. Moreover, the risk of female attrition to sex-balanced workplaces increases, regardless of occupational class, with increases in the percentage of males. Childbirth is associated with an increased risk of attrition to female-dominated workplaces, while having young children (⩽ 10 years old) lowered the risk. This association, however, was primarily evident among working-class women in manual occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nicoletti, Cheti, Kjell Salvanes & Emma Tominey (2023): Mothers Working during Preschool Years and Child Skills: Does Income Compensate? In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 41, H. 2, S. 389-429. DOI:10.1086/719688

Abstract

"Increasing mothers’ labour supply in a child’s preschool years may reduce time investments, yielding a negative direct effect on mid-childhood and teenage outcomes. But as mothers’ work hours increase, income will rise. Can income compensate for the negative effect of hours? Our mediation analysis exploits exogenous variation in both mothers’ hours and family income. Results suggest a negative, insignificant direct effect from increasing mother’s hours on child test scores. However the positive mediating effect of income creates a positive total effect on test scores of 26% of a standard deviation for 10-hours increase in mothers weekly hours in preschool years." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bar-Haim, Eyal, Louis Chauvel, Janet Gornick & Anne Hartung (2022): The Persistence of the Gender Earnings Gap: Cohort Trends and the Role of Education in Twelve Countries. (SocArXiv papers), [Charlottesville, VA], 36 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/dkc76

Abstract

"Studying twelve countries over 30 years, we examine whether women’s educational expansion has translated into a narrowing of the gender gap in earnings when including persons with zero earnings. As educational attainment is cohort-dependent, an Age-Period-Cohort analysis is most appropriate in our view. Using the micro data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database, we show that while, in terms of attainment of tertiary education, women have caught up and often even outperform men, substantial gender differences in our earnings measure persist in all countries. Using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method in an innovative age-period-cohort approach, we demonstrate that the role of education in explaining gender earnings differences has been limited and even decreased over cohorts. We also conclude that, when including persons not receiving earnings, earnings differences at levels far from gender equality will likely persist in the future, even if the “rise of women” in terms of education continues – as the share of women in higher education increases and the returns to education in particular for women declines." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Corekcioglu, Gozde, Marco Francesconi & Astrid Kunze (2022): Expansions in Paid Parental Leave and Mothers' Economic Progress. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 15585), Bonn, 89 S.

Abstract

"We examine the impact of government-funded universal paid parental leave extensions on the likelihood that mothers reach top-pay jobs and executive positions, using eight Norwegian reforms. Up to a quarter of a century after childbirth, such reforms neither helped nor hurt mothers' chances to be at the top of their companies' pay ranking or in leadership positions. We detect no differential effect across many characteristics, and no impact on other outcomes, such as hours worked and promotions. No reform affected fathers' pay or the gender pay gaps between mothers and their male colleagues and between mothers and their partners." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kan, Man-Yee, Muzhi Zhou, Kamila Kolpashnikova, Ekaterina Hertog, Shohei Yoda & Jiweon Jun (2022): Revisiting the Gender Revolution: Time on Paid Work, Domestic Work, and Total Work in East Asian and Western Societies 1985–2016. In: Gender & Society, Jg. 36, H. 3, S. 368-396. DOI:10.1177/08912432221079664

Abstract

"We analyze time use data of four East Asian societies and 12 Western countries between 1985 and 2016 to investigate the gender revolution in paid work, domestic work, and total work. The closing of gender gaps in paid work, domestic work, and total work time has stalled in the most recent decade in several countries. The magnitude of the gender gaps, cultural contexts, and welfare policies plays a key role in determining whether the gender revolution in the division of labor will stall or continue. Women undertake more total work than men across all societies: The gender gap ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours a day. Our findings suggest that cultural norms interact with institutional contexts to affect the patterns of gender convergence in time use, and gender equality might settle at differing levels of egalitarianism across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ahrsjö, Ulrika, René Karadakic & Joachim Kahr Rasmussen (2021): Intergenerational Mobility Trends and the Changing Role of Female Labor. (CEBI working paper series 2021,19), Copenhagen, 54 S.

Abstract

"We present new evidence on the existence and drivers of trends in intergenerational income mobility using administrative income data from Scandinavia along with survey data from the United States. Harmonizing the data from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, we first find that intergenerational rank associations in income have increased uniformly across Scandinavia for cohorts of children born between 1951 and 1979. These trends are robust to a large set of empirical specifications that are common in the associated literature. However, splitting the trends by gender, we find that father-son mobility has been stable in all three countries, while correlations involving females display substantial trends. Similar patterns are confirmed in the US data, albeit with slightly different timing. Utilizing information about individual occupation, education and income in the Scandinavian data, we find that intergenerational mobility in latent economic status has remained relatively constant for all gender combinations. This suggests that a gradual reduction in gender-specific labor market segregation, increased female labor force participation and increased female access to higher education has strengthened the signal value that maternal income carries about productivity passed on to children. Based on these results, we argue that the observed decline in intergenerational mobility in Scandinavia is consistent with a socially desirable development where female skills are increasingly valued at the labor market, and that the same is likely to be true also in the US." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bennett, Patrick, Chiara Ravetti & Po Yin Wong (2021): Losing in a boom: Long-term consequences of a local economic shock for female labour market outcomes. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 73. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102080

Abstract

"This article examines the long-term labour market consequences of a positive and large-scale economic shock, the discovery of oil and gas in Norway. Using longitudinal data on the entire Norwegian population, we find that the shock increases male income by around 7%, while reducing female income by up to 14%. Although married women experience the largest income losses, they also have higher household income, revealing the importance of labour supply adjustments within households. While these income shifts persist for two decades, the subsequent generation of female workers are able to close the income gap with their peers in areas less affected by the oil boom." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Bratsberg, Bernt, Andreas Kotsadam & Selma Walther (2021): Male Fertility: Facts, Distribution and Drivers of Inequality. (IZA discussion paper 14506), Bonn, 53 S.

Abstract

"We document new facts on the distribution of male fertility and its relationship with men’s labor market outcomes. Using Norwegian registry data on all births since 1967, we show that rates of male childlessness in recent cohorts are 72% among the lowest five percent of earners but only 11% among the highest earners, and that this gap widened by almost 20 percentage points over the last thirty cohort years. There has been a compression in the fertility distribution, with a substantial share of men being “left behind” and fewer men experiencing a larger share of the population’s new births. We use firm bankruptcies as a source of variation in job loss and earnings to provide robust evidence that men experiencing negative labor market shocks are less likely to experience the birth of a child, transition out of childlessness, and be partnered, and that these effects are persistent up to 15 years after the event. We conclude by documenting that men’s fertility penalty to job loss has increased markedly over the last three decades." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ledic, Marko & Ivica Rubil (2021): Beyond Wage Gap, Towards Job Quality Gap: The Role of Inter-Group Differences in Wages, Non-Wage Job Dimensions, and Preferences. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 155, H. 2, S. 523-561. DOI:10.1007/s11205-021-02612-y

Abstract

"Wage is not the only thing people care about when assessing the quality of their jobs. Non-wage job dimensions, such as autonomy at work and work-life balance, are important as well. Nevertheless, there is vast literature comparing groups of employed people that focuses on the inter-group wage gaps only. We go beyond the wage gap by proposing a framework for analysing inter-group gaps in multidimensional job quality. Job quality is measured by the so-called equivalent wage, a measure combining wage and multiple non-wage job dimensions in accordance with preferences over jobs as combinations of job dimensions. We derive a decomposition of the inter-group equivalent wage gap into three components: (1) the standard wage gap, (2) the gap in non-wage dimensions, and (3) inter-group preference heterogeneity. In an illustrative empirical application, we focus on the gender gap for recent university graduates using survey data from 19 countries. Men's equivalent wages are substantially higher than women's, and the equivalent wage gaps are significantly larger than the wage gaps. This is because the non-wage job dimensions are on average to men's advantage, and the preference heterogeneity is such that men care about the non-wage dimensions less than women do, and thus suffer less from having the non-wage dimensions at levels below the perfect level. This type of decompositions broadens information about labour market inequalities available to policy makers, but it is up to them to decide which of the three components of the equivalent wage gap are normatively relevant for them and whether they should aim to eliminate them." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Pető, Rita & Balázs Reizer (2021): Gender differences in the skill content of jobs. In: Journal of Population Economics, Jg. 34, H. 3, S. 825-864. DOI:10.1007/s00148-021-00825-6

Abstract

"There is significant heterogeneity in actual skill use within occupations even though occupations are differentiated by the task workers should perform during work. Using data on 12 countries which are available both in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey and International Social Survey Program, we show that women use their cognitive skills less than men even within the same occupation. The gap in skill intensity cannot be explained by differences in worker characteristics or in cognitive skills. Instead, we show that living in a partnership significantly increases the skill use of men compared with women. We argue that having a partner affects skill use through time allocation as the gender penalty of partnered women is halved once we control for working hours and hours spent on housework. Finally, we do not find evidence of workplace discrimination against women." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Stokke, Hildegunn E. (2021): The gender wage gap and the early-career effect: the role of actual experience and education level. In: Labour, Jg. 35, H. 2, S. 135-162. DOI:10.1111/labr.12191

Abstract

"This paper studies how the gender wage gap develops with work experience throughout the career. The contribution is twofold. First, the analysis applies matched employer‐employee register data with information on actual, rather than potential, experience. Second, the career effect of the gender wage gap is allowed to differ by workers’ education level. The male wage premium is small upon entry to the labor market, whereas it increases rapidly throughout the early career, before stabilizing. In contrast to the existing literature, the estimates reveal heterogeneity among high‐educated workers, where the widening of the wage gap is much smaller for postgraduates than other college graduates." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Tallås Ahlzén, Malin (2021): Peer effects and parental leave of fathers. (Swedish Institute for Social Research. Working paper 2021,1), Stockholm, 27 S.

Abstract

"This paper explores peer effects in parental leave uptake between male coworkers in Sweden. More specifically, I use the first parental leave quota, introduced in 1995, to estimate the peer effects in a fuzzy Regression discontinuity design. The results are allowed to differ with plant characteristics related to monetary and normative costs facing the employee, as well as monetary costs facing the employer. Further, the quality of response of both peers and fathers is evaluated. The empirical analysis indicates that there is no peer effect in Sweden on average and the heterogeneity analysis of costs reveal no robust differences. While the first stage is strong throughout, there is no robust reduced form. This implies that peers (and fathers) responded to the reform, but there was no additional effect on fathers from their peers. I suggest two features of the Swedish setting which in combination are especially unfavorable for peer effects. Firstly, the extensive margin among Swedish fathers was relatively high before the reform. Secondly, the Swedish system allows for continuous applications of parental leave and a flexible outtake. I provide suggestive evidence of a tradeoff between the scope for peer effects and the quality of the information transmitted." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bergsvik, Janna, Ragni Hege Kitterød & Kenneth Aarskaug Wiik (2020): Parenthood and Couples' Relative Earnings in Norway. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 36, H. 2, S. 218-235. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcz062

Abstract

"With the advance of the gender revolution, income dynamics in couples are changing. Nonetheless, in most Western societies, parenthood still promotes specialized gender roles. Utilizing Norwegian register data on all married and cohabiting couples born 1946–1989, we investigate possible changes in the associations between parenthood and within-couple inequality in earnings in the years 2005–2014. Precisely, using interactions and fixed effects models, we compare the development of within-couple gender gaps in earnings over time between childless couples and couples with children of different ages, and within couples before and after childbirth. Results showed that the gender gap in earnings in couples increased with the number of children and was most distinct among couples with children below 6 years. However, the association between parenthood and within-couple inequality in earnings was reduced across the study period, a development partly driven by a decreasing fatherhood premium evident from 2009 onwards. Not only women's but also men's income development is now negatively affected by having young children in the household. Our findings, thus, indicate important changes in how men and women prioritize paid labour after a childbirth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Corekcioglu, Gozde, Marco Francesconi & Astrid Kunze (2020): Do Generous Parental Leave Policies Help Top Female Earners? In: Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Jg. 36, H. 4, S. 2020. DOI:10.1093/oxrep/graa047

Abstract

"Generous government-mandated parental leave is generally viewed as an effective policy to support women's careers around childbirth. But does it help women to reach top positions in the upper pay echelon of their firms? Using longitudinal employer–employee matched data for the entire Norwegian population, we address this question exploiting a series of reforms that expanded paid leave from 30 weeks in 1989 to 52 weeks in 1993. The representation of women in top positions has only moderately increased over time, and career profiles of female top earners within firms are significantly different from those of their male counterparts. The reforms did not affect, and possibly decreased, the probability for women to be at the top over their life cycle. We discuss some implications of this result to put into perspective the design of new family-friendly policy interventions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & José Alberto Molina (2020): The Gender Gap in Time Allocation in Europe. (IZA discussion paper 13461), 42 S.

Abstract

"This article explores the gender gap in time allocation in Europe, offering up-to-date statistics and information on several factors that may help to explain these differences. Prior research has identified several factors affecting the time individuals devote to paid work, unpaid work, and child care, and the gender gaps in these activities, but most research refers to single countries, and general patterns are rarely explored. Cross-country evidence on gender gaps in paid work, unpaid work, and child care is offered, and explanations based on education, earnings, and household structure are presented, using data from the EUROSTAT and the Multinational Time Use Surveys. There are large cross-country differences in the gender gaps in paid work, unpaid work, and child care, which remain after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, although the gender gap in paid work dissipates when the differential gendered relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and paid work is taken into account. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of gender gaps in Europe, helping to focus recent debates on how to tackle inequality in Europe, and clarifying the factors that contribute to gender inequalities in the uses of time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Goraus, Karolina, Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde (2020): How rankings disguise gender inequality: a comparative analysis of cross-country gender equality rankings based on adjusted wage gaps. (GRAPE working paper 46), Warszawa, 23 S.

Abstract

"In the case of gender wage gaps, adjusting adequately for individual characteristics requires prior assessment of several important deficiencies, primarily whether a given labor market is characterized by gendered selection into employment, gendered segmentation and whether these mechanisms differ along the distribution of wages. Whether a country is perceived as more equal than others depends on the interaction between the method of adjusting gender wage gap for individual characteristics and the prevalence of these deficiencies. We make the case that this interaction is empirically relevant by comparing the country rankings for the adjusted gender wage gap among 23 EU countries. In this relatively homogeneous group of countries, the interaction between method and underlying deficiencies leads to substantial variation in the extent of unjustified inequality. A country may change its place in the ranking by as much as ten positions - both towards greater equality and towards greater inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Thun, Cecilie (2020): Excellent and gender equal? Academic motherhood and 'gender blindness' in Norwegian academia. In: Gender, work & organization, Jg. 27, H. 2, S. 166-180. DOI:10.1111/gwao.12368

Abstract

"This article explores Norwegian female academics' experiences with academic motherhood in an organizational perspective. A main finding is that academia as an organization is greedy, uncertain, and has 'blind spots' that reveal gender bias related to gender and parental status, especially mothers. By analyzing the link between gendered organization of work and the legitimatizing of gender inequality, the article reveals 'gender blindness' in the academic organization concerning gender and parental status. The article concludes that changes in academia - in line with academic capitalism - may indicate that the Norwegian model of work-life balance is under pressure. This article suggests that the organizational conditions for academic motherhood are important factors in order to understand the persistence of gender inequality." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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(2020): Quality Early Childhood Education and Care for Children Under Age 3. Results from the Starting Strong Survey 2018. (TALIS), Paris, 120 S. DOI:10.1787/99f8bc95-en

Abstract

"The experience of children under age 3 with early childhood education and care (ECEC) is crucial for their learning, development and well-being and for parents’ return to work. Despite increasing recognition of the importance of ECEC for the youngest children, little is known about this sector. The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) is the first international survey that focuses on the ECEC workforce. It asks staff and leaders about themselves and their settings, including the practices they use with children and their views on the sector. This thematic report focusses on ECEC for children under age 3, an option of the Survey in which four countries (Denmark, Germany, Israel and Norway) participated. The report answers many questions that are important for parents, actors in the field, and policy makers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Barbieri, Paolo, Giorgio Cutuli, Raffaele Guetto & Stefani Scherer (2019): Part-time employment as a way to increase women's employment: (Where) does it work? In: International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Jg. 60, H. 4, S. 249-268. DOI:10.1177/0020715219849463

Abstract

"Part-time employment has repeatedly been proposed as a solution for integrating women into the labor market; however, empirical evidence supporting a causal link is mixed. In this text, we investigate the extent to which increasing part-time employment is a valid means of augmenting women's labor market participation. We pay particular attention to the institutional context and the related characteristics of part-time employment in European countries to test the conditions under which this solution is a viable option. The results reveal that part-time employment may strengthen female employment in Continental Europe and especially in Southern Europe, where an increase in part-time employment - even if it is demand-side driven - leads to greater employment participation among women. We also discuss some policy implications and trade-offs: Although part-time work can lead to higher numbers of employed women, it does so at the cost of increasing gendered labor market segregation. We analyze data from the European Labor Force Survey (EU-LFS) 1992 - 2011 for 19 countries and 188 regions and exploit regional variation over time while controlling for time-constant regional characteristics, time-varying regional labor market features, and (time-varying) confounding factors at the national level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bjørnholt, Margunn & Kari Stefansen (2019): Same but different: Polish and Norwegian parents' work. Family adaptations in Norway. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 292-304. DOI:10.1177/0958928718758824

Abstract

"This article explores how families with young children arrive at and live with different work - family adaptations within a welfare state that strongly supports the dual earner/dual carer model - that of Norway. It draws on a qualitative study among Norwegian-born and Polish-born parents, representing, respectively, 'insider' and 'outsider' views on this model. The analysis aims at capturing the dynamic interplay between structures and policies, and everyday practices. We found that both Norwegian and Polish parents embraced the cultural ideal of the dual earner/dual carer model, but that their perceived scope of action differed. Within the Norwegian group, there were differences related to class, however. Among middle-class Norwegian parents, the model was internalized as a moral obligation and part of identity, making it difficult to voice and cope with work - family conflict. Working-class parents in this group varied more in their identification with this model. Across class, Polish parents, in contrast, used welfare state entitlements eclectically to shape new and more gender equal family practices in Norway and to adjust to changing circumstances. The article illustrates how enabling structures may represent both opportunities for and limitation to individual agency, undermining the assumption of a simple 'fit' between work - family policies, work - family adaptations and gender equality in the family." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chłoń-Domińczak, Agnieszka, Iga Magda & Pawel A. Strzelecki (2019): Patterns of labour market participation and their impact on the well-being of older women. In: A. Börsch-Supan, J. Bristle, K. Andersen-Ranberg, A. Brugiavini, F. Jusot, H. Litwin & G. Weber (Hrsg.) (2019): Health and socio-economic status over the life course : First results from SHARE Waves 6 and 7, S. 129-139. DOI:10.1515/9783110617245-013

Abstract

"We focus on identifying the patterns of the full and interrupted careers of women in 13 European countries that participated in the third and subsequent waves of SHARE, in particular the retrospective SHARELIFE survey. Using the survey results, we distinguish women who have had full or interrupted labour market careers. We also analyse differences in the patterns of women's interrupted careers among countries. We then assess whether a link exists between the pattern of labour market career and the current socio-economic situation of older women, including their health, income and life satisfaction levels. Thus, we contribute to studies on various dimensions of life at later stages." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Duvander, Ann-Zofie, Trude Lappegård, Synøve N. Andersen, Ólöf Garðarsdóttir, Gerda Neyer & Ida Viklund (2019): Parental leave policies and continued childbearing in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. In: Demographic Research, Jg. 40, S. 1501-1528. DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2019.40.51

Abstract

"Background: Demographic theories maintain that family policies that support gender equality may lead to higher fertility levels in postindustrial societies. This phenomenon is often exemplified by the situation in the Nordic countries. These countries have parental leave policies that promote a gender-equal work-care balance for both parents, and these countries have comparatively high fertility levels. However, very little is known about the association between these policies and childbearing at the individual level.
Objective: We explore how fathers' parental leave use is related to subsequent childbearing in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and we examine whether differences exist in childbearing outcomes among fathers who use no leave, those who use only the leave allocated to them by the policy, and those who use more than that amount of leave.
Methods: The study is based on 15 years of administrative register data on parental leave use in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Event history analysis is used to follow parental couples from the end of the parental leave use for their first or second child until a new birth takes place.
Results: There is a positive association between fathers' leave use and second births in all three countries, while there is a negative association between fathers' parental leave use and third births in Norway and Sweden. Taking more than the 'father's quota' does not consistently increase the second-birth intensities.
Conclusions: The two-child norm is closely connected to the norm of fathers being engaged in child rearing, while only a select group of fathers continue with a third child.
Contribution: The study shows that the association between gender equality and fertility differs between countries and by the parity of the child. It also shows the need to differentiate between policy-induced gender-equal behavior and gender-egalitarian parenting." (Author's abstract, © Max-Planck-Institut für demographische Forschung) ((en))

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Ellingsæter, Anne Lise & Ragnhild Steen Jensen (2019): Politicising women's part-time work in Norway. A longitudinal study of ideas. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 33, H. 3, S. 444-461. DOI:10.1177/0950017018821277

Abstract

"Numerous studies have expanded the understanding of part-time work as a gendered labour market phenomenon. However, there has been little research into how societies perceive women's part-time work over time. The passage of several decades since women in great numbers entered the labour market in Scandinavia, many in part-time jobs, provides an opportunity to investigate this. We examine ideas about the nature and desirability of part-time work for women based on government advisory commission reports published in Norway between 1978 and 2016. With the gender contract as a conceptual lens, this longitudinal study of ideas demonstrates how a changing national context transformed perceptions of women's part-time work and the 'woman worker'. From being a strategy for increasing women's economic independence and individual choice, part-time work has become undesirable, whereas full-time work for all women is promoted. The ideational and institutional drivers of the politicisation of women's part-time work are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Seehuus, Sara (2019): Social class background and gender-(a)typical choices of fields of study in higher education. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 70, H. 4, S. 1349-1373. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.12668

Abstract

"By employing a Bourdieu-inspired class scheme that differentiates between classes' volume and composition of capital, and by analysing Norwegian administrative register data for birth cohorts between 1987 and 1992, this paper examines the relationship between social class background and gender-(a)typical choices of higher education. Fields of study in higher education in much of the Western world remain segregated by gender despite the gender gap in educational attainment having been reversed. However, some changes have taken place due to the influx of women into male-dominated, high-status fields. Few recent studies have examined the relationship between social class background and gendered educational choices in light of these changes; furthermore, the focus of previous research has been limited to the vertical dimension of class. The results presented in this article suggest that men and women are more likely to make gender-atypical choices when this leads to social mobility and that focusing solely on the vertical dimension of class may mask horizontal differences." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Sánchez-Mira, Núria & Jacqueline O'Reilly (2019): Household employment and the crisis in Europe. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 33, H. 3, S. 422-443. DOI:10.1177/0950017018809324

Abstract

"The 2008 crisis had a significant impact on household employment in some European countries. An analysis of the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions generated a new cross-national typology of household employment structures and showed how these changed during the crisis and austerity period, capturing the experiences of high and low qualified households. Findings indicate that dual earning households are not always a consequence of gender equality but result from economic necessity or employment opportunities. The re-emergence of traditional male breadwinner households is often the result of female unemployment, especially for lower educated women. An increase in female single earners and workless households is evident in countries hit hardest by the employment crisis. The value of this cross-national typology, rooted in the interaction of educational effects and employment opportunities, is allowing comparison both within and between European countries, going beyond established typologies based on policy frameworks or gender cultures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Andresen, Martin Eckhoff & Tarjei Havnes (2018): Child care, parental labor supply and tax revenue. (IZA discussion paper 11576), Bonn, 48 S.

Abstract

"We study the impact of child care for toddlers on the labor supply of mothers and fathers in Norway. For identification, we exploit the staggered expansion across municipalities following a large reform from 2002. Our IV-estimates indicate that child care use causes an increase in the labor supply of mothers. Results suggest that cohabiting mothers move towards full time employment, while single mothers move to part time. Meanwhile, we find no impact for fathers or grandparents. We also find an increase in the taxes paid from cohabiting mothers, lending some support to the argument that parts of the cost of child care is offset by increased taxes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Axelsdóttir, Laufey & Sigtona Halrynjo (2018): Gender balance in executive management. Top-managers' understanding of barriers and solutions from the demand-supply perspective. In: Social Politics, Jg. 25, H. 2, S. 287-314. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxy012

Abstract

"The under-representation of women in executive management stands in contrast to their educational attainment, and labor market participation in most countries. This paper examines to what degree top-managers in the gender equal states, Iceland and Norway, agree with established demand - supply explanations of the problem, and suggested instruments for solutions. Drawing on a quantitative dataset of 908 managers in the 250 largest companies, the results emphasize that the divide between demand- and supply-side barriers and solutions may be less clear-cut in practice than theory. Our findings suggest a combination of demand- and supply-policies to enhance gender balance in top-executive management." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bütikofer, Aline, Sissel Jensen & Kjell G. Salvanes (2018): The role of parenthood on the gender gap among top earners. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 109, H. October, S. 103-123. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.05.008

Abstract

"Is the wage penalty due to motherhood larger among highly qualified women? In this paper, we study the effect of parenthood on the careers of high-achieving women relative to high-achieving men in a set of high-earning professions with either nonlinear or linear wage structures. Using Norwegian registry data, we find that the child earnings penalty for mothers in professions with a nonlinear wage structure, MBAs and lawyers, is substantially larger than for mothers in professions with a linear wage structure. The gender earnings gap for MBA and law graduates is around 30%, but substantially less for STEM and medicine graduates, 10 years after childbirth. In addition, we provide some descriptive statistics on the role of fertility timing on the child earnings penalty." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))

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Castellano, Rosalia & Antonella Rocca (2018): Gender disparities in European labour markets. A comparison between female and male employees. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 157, H. 4, S. 589-608. DOI:10.1111/ilr.12052

Abstract

"In recent decades, the dramatic increase in female labour force participation was connected to significant changes in the economic opportunities reserved to women. However, gender disparities in the labour market still persist in many forms.
In this study we want to verify if in the European labour markets higher gender differentials are directly connected with bad economic conditions. Starting from the GGLMI, a composite indicator designed and developed by the authors in a previous study, besides updating the results, we construct other three composite indicators analysing separately female and male conditions in the labour market and the gender gap." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chan, Marc K. & Kai Liu (2018): Life-cycle and intergenerational effects of child care reforms. In: Quantitative economics, Jg. 9, H. 2, S. 659-706. DOI:10.3982/QE617

Abstract

"We investigate the importance of various mechanisms by which child care policies can affect life-cycle patterns of employment and fertility among women, as well as long-run cognitive outcomes among children. A dynamic structural model of employment, fertility, and child care use is estimated using Norwegian administrative data. The estimation exploits a large-scale child care reform, which provided generous cash transfers to mothers who did not use formal child care facilities. We find that the reform generates sizable changes in employment and fertility decisions, especially among low-education women. We then use the mothers' unobserved heterogeneity in the structural model as a control function to examine the effects of mothers' behavior on long-run cognitive outcomes of children. The reform leads to lower reading scores among children, primarily as a result of mothers shifting to inferior forms of care. In counterfactual simulations, we compare the effects of an alternative child care subsidy, an expanded maternity leave program, and a tax deduction for mothers with children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dotti Sani, Giulia M. & Stefani Scherer (2018): Maternal Employment: Enabling Factors in Context. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 32, H. 1, S. 75-92. DOI:10.1177/0950017016677944

Abstract

"Maternal employment is still below the overall EU recommended level of 60% in many European countries. Understanding the individual, household and contextual circumstances under which mothers of children of different ages are likely to be employed is crucial to develop strategies capable of increasing maternal employment. This article takes a comparative approach to investigating the characteristics associated with maternal employment in the presence of children aged 0 - 2, 3 - 5, 6 - 9 and 10 - 12 years. We model the probability of being employed full-time, part-time or being a homemaker using EU-SILC data (2004 to 2007) from Germany, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom - four countries belonging to different gender and welfare regimes. The results indicate that individual and household characteristics are more relevant in determining mothers' employment in countries where the state is less supportive towards maternal employment: Italy and to a lesser extent Germany and the UK - for the period observed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grigoli, Francesco, Zsóka Kóczán & Petia Topalova (2018): A cohort-based analysis of labor force participation for advanced economies. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 264), Maastricht, 23 S.

Abstract

"Advanced economies are in the midst of a major demographic transition, with the number of elderly rising precipitously relative to the working-age population. Yet, despite the acceleration in demographic shifts in the past decade, advanced economies experienced markedly different trajectories in overall labor force participation rates and the workforce attachment of men and women. Using a cohort-based model of labor force participation for 17 advanced economies estimated over the 1985-2016 period, we document a significant role of common patterns of participation over the life cycle and shifts in these patterns across generations for aggregate labor supply, especially in the case of women. The entry of new cohorts of women led to upward shifts in the age participation profile, boosting aggregate participation rates. However, this process plateaued in most advanced economies, with signs of reversal in some. Using the model's results to forecast future participation trends, we project sizable declines in aggregate participation rates over the next three decades due to the aging of the population. Illustrative simulations show that implementing policies encouraging labor supply can help attenuate but may not fully offset demographic pressures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Haaland, Venke Furre, Mari Rege, Kjetil Telle & Mark Votruba (2018): The intergenerational transfer of the employment gender gap. In: Labour economics, Jg. 52, H. June, S. 132-146. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2018.04.004

Abstract

"We investigate the extent to which the gap in employment rates between genders is shaped by the intergenerational transfer of gender norms. We employ rich longitudinal registry data covering the entire Norwegian population between the years 1970 and 2009 and show that a parsimonious set of family and municipality characteristics, measured in childhood, can explain a substantial part of the gender gap in full-time employment. The characteristics primarily operate through their impact on female (not male) employment. Children raised in 'high gender gap' conditions (low-educated parents, non-working mother and raised in a municipality at the highest decile for Christian Democrat voter support and lowest decile in maternal employment rates) demonstrate an employment gender gap almost four times larger than those raised in 'low gap' conditions. Our key childhood characteristics are also related to other career indicators (education, earnings, age at first marriage, age at first childbirth, being the primary breadwinner) in a way that is consistent with the transfer of gender norms. Thus, the gender employment gap appears to be shaped by intergenerational transfers of norms even in one of the most gender equal societies in the world." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))

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Matteazzi, Eleonora, Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz (2018): Part-time employment, the gender wage gap and the role of wage-setting institutions. Evidence from 11 European countries. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 24, H. 3, S. 221-241. DOI:10.1177/0959680117738857

Abstract

"We examine how far the over-representation of women in part-time jobs can explain the gender gap in hourly earnings, and also investigate how far wage-setting institutions are correlated with the overall gender wage gap and the female part-time wage gap. Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2009 data for 11 European countries, we implement a double decomposition of the gender wage gap: between men and women employed full-time and between full-time and part-time working women. This shows that the wage penalty of women employed part-time occurs mainly through the segregation of part-time jobs, but the full-time gender pay gap remains mostly unexplained. At the macro level, the gender wage gap tends to be higher in countries where part-time employment is more widespread. Some wage-setting institutions seem to reduce the female full-time/part-time pay gap and the gender gap among full-time workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Stier, Haya, Noah Lewin-Epstein & Michael Braun (2018): Institutional change and women's work patterns along the family life course. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 57, H. October, S. 46-55. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2018.07.001

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Verniers, Catherine & Jorge Vala (2018): Justifying gender discrimination in the workplace. The mediating role of motherhood myths. In: PLoS one, Jg. 13, H. 1, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0190657

Abstract

"The issue of gender equality in employment has given rise to numerous policies in advanced industrial countries, all aimed at tackling gender discrimination regarding recruitment, salary and promotion. Yet gender inequalities in the workplace persist. The purpose of this research is to document the psychosocial process involved in the persistence of gender discrimination against working women. Drawing on the literature on the justification of discrimination, we hypothesized that the myths according to which women's work threatens children and family life mediates the relationship between sexism and opposition to a mother's career. We tested this hypothesis using the Family and Changing Gender Roles module of the International Social Survey Programme. The dataset contained data collected in 1994 and 2012 from 51632 respondents from 18 countries. Structural equation modellings confirmed the hypothesised mediation. Overall, the findings shed light on how motherhood myths justify the gender structure in countries promoting gender equality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, commonly known as the Nordic countries, have been leaders in the development of modern family and gender policy, and the explicit promotion of gender equality at home, at work, and in public life. Today, on many measures, they boast some of the most gender-equal labour markets in the OECD.
This report shows that improvements in gender equality have contributed considerably to economic growth in the Nordic countries. Increases in female employment alone are estimated to account for anywhere between roughly 0.05 and 0.40 percentage points to average annual GDP per capita growth - equivalent to 3 to 20% of total GDP per capita growth over the past 50 years or so, depending on the country.
The Nordic countries are closer than most to achieving gender equality in the labour market. But the last mile may well prove to be the longest one. To make further progress, a continued assessment of the effectiveness of existing public policies and workplace practices is needed. Only with resolve and a continued focus can Nordic countries ensure that men and women contribute to their economies and societies in gender equal measure." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bergqvist, Christina & Steven Saxonberg (2017): The state as a norm-builder? The take-up of parental leave in Norway and Sweden. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 51, H. 7, S. 1470-1487. DOI:10.1111/spol.12251

Abstract

"This study shows that although Norway and Sweden have rather similar family policies, the seemingly small differences that exist reflect different national ideals of care, and these differences encourage parents to employ different gendered moral rationalities. However, Sweden's ideal of 'equal-sharing/professional care', encourages fathers to take longer leaves than the Norwegian ideal of 'partial sharing plus choosing between professional or parental care'. Given their different national ideals of caring, different gendered moral rationalities emerge. While in Norway the dominant gendered moral rationality among our interviewees is 'man-doing-his-duty', in Sweden two different rationalities arise: the 'breastfeeding-plus-sharing' rationality and the 'male-opt-out'. This conclusion is based on 60 interviews with mothers and fathers in Oslo and Stockholm." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Castellano, Rosalia & Rocca Antonella (2017): The dynamic of the gender gap in the European labour market in the years of economic crisis. In: Quality and Quantity. International Journal of Methodology, Jg. 51, H. 3, S. 1337-1357. DOI:10.1007/s11135-016-0334-1

Abstract

"Closing the gender gap in the labour market is one of the main goals of European Union and part of a wider effort to eliminate social inequalities. In recent decades, all developed countries have suffered a deep global economic crisis, that has increased social and economic inequalities. In Europe, the crisis involved problems of European stability and growth, but the crisis did not affect the euro-area countries to the same extent, and the consequences and recovery were correspondingly asymmetrical. In this paper, we analyse the changes that occurred in the gender gap in the European labour markets from 2007 to 2012 to understand if the recession has further increased or reduced the gender differentials. At this aim, we combine the use of two different statistical methodologies. Through the composite indicator methodology, we test how the rank of countries in relation to gender equality has changed in these years. In addition, the Dynamic Factor Analysis allows us to identify the factors that drive these changes. Moreover, the contextual analysis of the measures that were utilized to face the crisis could give policy makers some useful suggestions on the most efficacious actions to take." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Dolado, Juan J., Cecilia García-Peñalosa & Linas Tarasonis (2017): The changing nature of gender selection into employment. Europe over the Great Recession. (IZA discussion paper 10729), Bonn, 40 S.

Abstract

"The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role played by selectivity issues induced by nonemployment in explaining gender wage gap patterns in the EU since the onset of the Great Recession. We show that male selection into the labour market, traditionally disregarded, has increased. This is particularly the case in peripheral EU countries, where dramatic drops in male unskilled jobs have taken place during the crisis. As regards female selection, traditionally positive, we document mixed findings. While it has declined in some countries, as a result of increasing female LFP due to an added-worker effect, it has become even more positive in other countries. This is due to adverse labour demand shifts in industries which are intensive in temporary work where women are over-represented. These adverse shifts may have more than offset the rise in unskilled female labour supply." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Foster, Liam, Ruby Chau & Sam Yu (2017): The impact of defamilisation measures on gender and pensions. A comparison between the UK and seven other European countries. In: The journal of poverty and social justice, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 199-217. DOI:10.1332/175982717X14999284090397

Abstract

"This article uses individual-based and state-led care-focused defamilisation indices to explore women's employment opportunities and experiences and their implications for pension contributions. These two types of defamilisation indices are applied to eight European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK) which shows that the UK has less generous defamilisation measures than its European counterparts. It indicates that the use of defamilisation measures along with pension policies which are not based on the male breadwinner ideology have the capacity to moderate economic inequalities between men and women in older age." (Author's abstract, © 2017 Policy Press) ((en))

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Grönlund, Anne, Karin Halldén & Charlotta Magnusson (2017): A Scandinavian success story? Women's labour market outcomes in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In: Acta sociologica, Jg. 60, H. 2, S. 97-119. DOI:10.1177/0001699316660595

Abstract

"In current research, the extensive family policies of the Scandinavian countries have been problematized and described as hampering women's careers. However, mechanisms have been little investigated and the Scandinavian countries are often regarded as a single policy model. Based on an account of institutional variety we study gender gaps in hourly wages and access to authority positions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and explore the importance of segregation, skills and work interruptions. The analysis uses pooled cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 2004 and 2010. The results show that gender gaps vary both in size and regarding the mechanisms producing them. In particular, we find that gender segregation has a radically different impact in the four countries. The analysis suggests that the mechanisms linking family policies to labour market outcomes are more complex than envisaged in the current debate and point to the importance of comparing seemingly similar countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Javornik, Jana & Anna Kurowska (2017): Work and Care Opportunities under Different Parental Leave Systems. Gender and Class Inequalities in Northern Europe. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 51, H. 4, S. 617-637. DOI:10.1111/spol.12316

Abstract

"This article analyses public parental leave in eight northern European countries, and assesses its opportunity potential to facilitate equal parental involvement and employment, focusing on gender and income opportunity gaps. It draws on Sen's capability and Weber's ideal-types approach to analyze policies across countries. It offers the ideal parental leave architecture, one which minimizes the policy-generated gender and class inequality in parents' opportunities to share parenting and keep their jobs, thus providing real opportunities for different groups of individuals to achieve valued functionings as parents. Five policy indicators are created using benchmarking and graphical analysis. Two sources of opportunity inequality are considered: the leave system as the opportunity and constraint structure, and the socio-economic contexts as the conversion factors. The article produces a comprehensive overview of national leave policies, visually presenting leave policy across countries. Considering policy capability ramifications beyond gender challenges a family policy-cluster idea and the Nordic-Baltic divide. It demonstrates that leave systems in northern Europe are far from homogenous; they diverge in the degree to which they create real opportunities for parents and children as well as in key policy dimensions through which these opportunities are created." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Kanji, Shireen & Robin Samuel (2017): Male breadwinning revisited. How specialisation, gender role attitudes and work characteristics affect overwork and underwork in Europe. In: Sociology, Jg. 51, H. 2, S. 339-356. DOI:10.1177/0038038515596895

Abstract

"We examine how male breadwinning and fatherhood relate to men's overwork and underwork in western Europe. Male breadwinners should be less likely to experience overwork than other men, particularly when they have children, if specialising in paid work suits them. However, multinomial logistic regression analysis of the European Social Survey data from 2010 (n = 4662) challenges this position: male breadwinners, with and without children, want to work fewer than their actual hours, making visible one of the downsides of specialisation. Male breadwinners wanting to work fewer hours is specifically related to the job interfering with family life, as revealed by a comparison of the average marginal effects of variables across models. Work - life interference has an effect over and beyond the separate effects of work characteristics and family structure, showing the salience of the way work and life articulate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Liebig, Brigitte & Mechtild Oechsle (Hrsg.) (2017): Fathers in work organizations. Inequalities and capabilities, rationalities and politics. Opladen: Budrich, 253 S.

Abstract

"This book analyzes the role of work organizations when it comes to the realization of an active fatherhood. Firstly, it deals with barriers for active fatherhood and the related mechanisms of inequality. Which aspects of discrimination and social closure do fathers face today if they assert a claim for active fatherhood, and with what kind of barriers are they confronted? Secondly, the capabilities of fathers are addressed. Which is their possible scope of action, who are relevant actors, and what is the effect of policies and programs on change and organizational learning with respect to fatherhood?" (Publisher's text, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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O'Brien, Margaret & Karin Wall (Hrsg.) (2017): Comparative perspectives on work-life balance and gender equality. Fathers on leave alone. (Life course research and social policies 06), Cham: Springer London, 266 S., Anhang. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-42970-0

Abstract

"This book portrays men's experiences of home alone leave and how it affects their lives and family gender roles in different policy contexts and explores how this unique parental leave design is implemented in these contrasting policy regimes. The book brings together three major theoretical strands: social policy, in particular the literature on comparative leave policy developments; family and gender studies, in particular the analysis of gendered divisions of work and care and recent shifts in parenting and work-family balance; critical studies of men and masculinities, with a specific focus on fathers and fathering in contemporary western societies and life-courses. Drawing on empirical data from in-depth interviews with fathers across eleven countries, the book shows that the experiences and social processes associated with fathers' home alone leave involve a diversity of trends, revealing both innovations and absence of change, including pluralization as well as the constraining influence of policy, gender, and social context. As a theoretical and empirical book it raises important issues on modernization of the life course and the family in contemporary societies. The book will be of particular interest to scholars in comparing western societies and welfare states as well as to scholars seeking to understand changing work-life policies and family life in societies with different social and historical pathways." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schleutker, Elina (2017): Women's work-life preferences. Reconceptualization and cross-country description over time. In: European Societies, Jg. 19, H. 3, S. 292-312. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2017.1290266

Abstract

"According to Hakim's preference theory, women can be divided into three groups based on their work - family preferences: home-centered, adaptive and work-centered. Here it is argued that Hakim's conceptualization of the adaptive women is unsatisfactory, as it does not take into consideration how the adaptive women want to combine work and family. The paper offers a reconceptualization of the adaptive group. Based on when women want to return to employment after childbirth, and how many hours they would like to work, three types of adaptive women are distinguished: the home-oriented adaptive women, the truly adaptive women and the work-oriented adaptive women. To demonstrate the fruitfulness of the reconceptualization, a cross-sectional descriptive study of women's preferences over time is conducted by employing data from International Social Survey Programme." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bertrand, Marianne, Patricia Cortés, Claudia Olivetti & Jessica Pan (2016): Social norms, labor market opportunities, and the marriage gap for skilled women. (NBER working paper 22015), Cambrige, Mass., 65 S. DOI:10.3386/w22015

Abstract

"In most of the developed world, skilled women marry at a lower rate than unskilled women. We document heterogeneity across countries in how the marriage gap for skilled women has evolved over time. As labor market opportunities for women have improved, the marriage gap has been growing in some countries but shrinking in others. We discuss a theoretical model in which the (negative) social attitudes towards working women might contribute towards the lower marriage rate of skilled women, and might also induce a non-linear relationship between their labor market prospects and their marriage outcomes. The model is suited to understand the dynamics of the marriage gap for skilled women over time within a country with set social attitudes towards working women. The model also delivers predictions about how the marriage gap for skilled women should react to changes in their labor market opportunities across countries with more or less conservative attitudes towards working women. We test the key predictions of this model in a panel of 23 developed countries, as well as in a panel of US states." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brandth, Berit & Elin Kvande (2016): Fathers and flexible parental leave. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 30, H. 2, S. 275-290. DOI:10.1177/0950017015590749

Abstract

"Research on work-family balance has seen flexible work arrangements as a key solution for reconciling work and family, but it has given contradictory results in regard to fathers. This article focuses on flexible parental leave for fathers in Norway, which until now has rarely been studied. Based on interviews with 20 fathers, the article explores their experiences with flexible organization of the leave, which provides them with a menu of choices, and considers how it affects their caring. Findings show that it allows work to invade care, produces a double stress and promotes half-way fathering. Flexible use of the father's quota tends to confirm fathers as secondary carers instead of empowering them as carers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bünning, Mareike & Matthias Pollmann-Schult (2016): Family policies and fathers' working hours. Cross-national differences in the paternal labour supply. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 30, H. 2, S. 256-274. DOI:10.1177/0950017015578999

Abstract

"Despite extensive research on the effect of family policies on the labour supply of mothers, little is known about how these policies affect fathers' labour market outcomes. Using European panel data (EU-SILC) from 2003 to 2009 and multi-level models, this study analyses the effect of family policies on fathers' working hours. The results indicate that fathers work less than childless men if they live in countries that offer well paid, non-transferable parental leave for fathers, short parental leave for mothers and generous family allowances. The effects, however, are strongly contingent on fathers' educational levels. Whereas short maternal leaves are associated with shorter working hours among highly educated fathers, generous family allowances and father friendly parental leave schemes reduce the working hours of less educated fathers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Castro-García, Carmen & Maria Pazos-Moran (2016): Parental leave policy and gender equality in Europe. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 22, H. 3, S. 51-73. DOI:10.1080/13545701.2015.1082033

Abstract

"This article uses data from 2008 - 10 to analyze parental leave policies in twenty-one European countries and their influence on men's behavior. It examines entitlement characteristics, such as nontransferability, duration, payment, compulsory period, and other policies to assess their effect on the proportion of leave men use out of the total parental leave in each country. The findings, which suggest that a large majority of men take nontransferable and highly paid leave, and a small minority take other types, provide the basis for developing the Parental Leave Equality Index (PLEI). PLEI ranks countries by the degree to which parental leave policies reinforce or diminish the gendered division of labor. Results indicate that although Iceland's parental leave policies do the most to advance gender equity, no country has equal, nontransferable, and well-paid leave for each parent. This policy arrangement would be a precondition to men's and women's equal participation in childcare." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cools, Sara & Marte Ström (2016): Parenthood wage penalties in a double income society. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 14, H. 2, S. 391-416. DOI:10.1007/s11150-014-9244-y

Abstract

"We estimate how parenthood affects hourly wages using panel data for Norwegian employees in the years 1997 - 2007. Though smaller than for most other OECD countries, we find substantial wage penalties to motherhood, ranging from a 1.2 % wage reduction for women with lower secondary education to 4.9 % for women with more than four years of higher education. Human capital measures such as work experience and paid parental leave do not explain the wage penalties, indicating that in the Norwegian institutional context, mothers are protected from adverse wage effects due to career breaks. We do however find large heterogeneity in the effects, with the largest penalties for mothers working full time and in the private sector. Contrary to most studies using US data and to previous research from Norway, we find a small wage penalty also to fatherhood. Also for men, the penalty is greater for those who work full time and in the private sector. A substantial share of the fatherhood wage penalty is explained by paternity leave." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dahl, Gordon B., Katrine Loken, Magne Mogstad & Kari Vea Salvanes (2016): What is the case for paid maternity leave? In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 98, H. 4, S. 655-670. DOI:10.1162/REST_a_00602

Abstract

"We assess the case for generous government-funded maternity leave, focusing on a series of policy reforms in Norway that expanded paid leave from 18 to 35 weeks. We find the reforms do not crowd out unpaid leave and that mothers spend more time at home without a reduction in family income. The increased maternity leave has little effect on children's schooling, parental earnings and labor force participation, completed fertility, marriage, or divorce. The expansions, whose net costs amounted to 0.25% of GDP, have negative redistribution properties and imply a considerable increases in taxes at a cost to economic efficiency." (Author's abstract, © MIT Press Journals) ((en))

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Feldman, Karie & Brian K. Gran (2016): Is what's best for dads best for families? Paternity leave policies and equity across forty-four nations. In: Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Jg. 43, H. 1, S. 95-119.

Abstract

"In a global economy, paternity leave policies represent one of the most significant expansions of the welfare state that seek to help fathers respond to socio-economic pressures on their work and families. Policy makers who strongly promote socio-economic equity may respond to these global changes with new policy formulae meant to encourage involvement of fathers in their families. Nevertheless, scholars have limited understanding of who benefits from paternity leave policies and what these benefits mean to families. The present study is a comparative analysis of paternity leave policies across forty-four countries. This paper first presents a typology of paternity leave policies. This typology consists of seven criteria that range from duration of benefits to amount of benefits to employment security. This typology is then applied to forty-four countries. The present study demonstrates that a surprisingly small number of countries are devoted to family equity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dulk, Laura den (2016): Working time options over the life course. New regulations and empirical findings in five European countries. (WSI study 07), Düsseldorf, 136 S.

Abstract

"Sie stellt den aktuellen Stand der Regulierung von Arbeitszeitoptionen für eine lebensphasenorientierte Arbeitszeitgestaltung in fünf europäischen Ländern vor: Wissenschaftler/innen aus den Niederlanden, Schweden, Norwegen, Polen und der Tschechischen Republik gehen auf das Angebot an flexiblen Arbeitszeitarrangements per Gesetz und per Tarifvertrag ein und zeigen Zusammenhänge zur Geschlechtergleichstellung auf.
Zu finden sind die neuesten Daten zur Verfügbarkeit von Teilzeit, Elternzeit, Vaterschaftsurlaub und anderer Auszeiten. Die Wissenschaftler/innen stellen Forschungsergebnisse zur Nutzung der Optionen in den jeweiligen Ländern vor und behandeln die Veränderungen der letzten Jahre.
So gibt es in Ländern, in denen bisher feste Arbeitszeiten vorherrschten (Polen und Tschechische Republik) eine gewisse Zunahme von Arbeitszeitoptionen. Auch in diesen Ländern wird ein zunehmender Druck deutlich, das alte Arbeitszeitregime zu flexibilisieren.
In allen Ländern (Ausnahme: Schweden) zeigen sich Bestrebungen, flexible Arbeitszeiten (noch stärker) für wirtschaftliche Ziele nutzbar zu machen, das heißt, arbeitgeber- oder betriebsbezogene Flexibilität auszuweiten.
Die wenigen Studien, die zur Praxis der Nutzung von Arbeitszeitoptionen vorliegen, deuten darauf hin, dass in vielen Fällen die Einführung der Optionen nicht von einer Veränderung der betrieblichen Kultur begleitet war." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Løken, Katrine V., Kjell Erik Lommerud & Katrine Holm Reiso (2016): Single mothers and their children. Evaluating a work-encouraging welfare reform. (IZA discussion paper 10219), Bonn, 42 S.

Abstract

"Using rich administrative data from Norway, we evaluate a 1998 work-encouraging reform targeted at single parents. We especially focus on educational performance for children of the involved single mothers. For all children of single mothers, the effect on school grades at completion of junior high school at age 16 is near zero and insignificant. If one concentrates on younger single mothers, those most likely to be affected by the reform, the grade point average of their children drops significantly by 7% of a standard deviation. We isolate groups of mothers who are affected by the reform either primarily by having less time at home, or by reduced income. The children of both groups of mothers experience drops in school grades, so both reduced parental time and reduced income matter. The effect of reduced parental time, though, seems to be the more important." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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McDaniel, Anne (2016): The role of cultural contexts in explaining cross-national gender gaps in stem expectations. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 32, H. 1, S. 122-133. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcv078

Abstract

"In recent decades, women have made impressive inroads in education and the labour market in most countries; yet, they often remain under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions. One way to understand women's under-representation in STEM is to examine how boys and girls develop their career expectations during adolescence, as this is a critical time when individuals begin to plan their futures. Prior cross-national research finds that gender stratification in education, work, and politics in a country affects the size of male-favourable gender gaps on math and science achievement tests for adolescents. Countries with more gender equality have smaller gender gaps in math and science. But, it is unknown how gender stratification or cultural ideologies impact the development of boys' and girls' STEM career expectations. Do countries with less gender equality have smaller male-favourable gender gaps in STEM career expectations? Do countries with less gender egalitarian have larger male-favourable gender gaps in STEM career expectations? Using data on student's occupational expectations from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment and data on country-level gender stratification and genderegalitarian ideologies from the World Bank and European Values Survey, I study the gender gap in 15-year- olds' expectations to enter a STEM career across 24 countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Olivetti, Claudia & Barbara Petrongolo (2016): The evolution of gender gaps in industrialized countries. (IZA discussion paper 9659), Bonn, 47 S.

Abstract

"Women in developed economies have made major inroads in labor markets throughout the past century, but remaining gender differences in pay and employment seem remarkably persistent. This paper documents long-run trends in female employment, working hours and relative wages for a wide cross-section of developed economies. It reviews existing work on the factors driving gender convergence, and novel perspectives on remaining gender gaps. The paper finally emphasizes the interplay between gender trends and the evolution of the industry structure. Based on a shift-share decomposition, it shows that the growth in the service share can explain at least half of the overall variation in female hours, both over time and across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Olivetti, Claudia & Barbara Petrongolo (2016): The evolution of gender gaps in industrialized countries. In: Annual review of economics, Jg. 8, S. 405-434. DOI:10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115329

Abstract

"Women in developed economies have made major advancements in labor markets throughout the past century, but remaining gender differences in pay and employment seem remarkably persistent. This article documents long-run trends in female employment, working hours, and relative wages for a wide cross section of developed economies. It reviews existing work on the factors driving gender convergence, and novel perspectives on remaining gender gaps. Finally, the article emphasizes the interplay between gender trends and the evolution of the industry structure. Based on a shift-share decomposition, it shows that the growth in the service share can explain at least half of the overall variation in female hours, both over time and across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Steiber, Nadia, Caroline Berghammer & Barbara Haas (2016): Contextualizing the education effect on women's employment. A cross-national comparative analysis. In: Journal of Marriage and Family, Jg. 78, H. 1, S. 246-261. DOI:10.1111/jomf.12256

Abstract

In einem internationalen Vergleich wird untersucht, ob und in welchem Ausmaß sich Bildung auf die Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen auswirkt. Nach der Vorstellung eines Modells der Bildungseffekte auf der Mikroebene bei Paaren und Vorschlägen zum Einbezug moderierender Elemente auf makroökonomischer Ebene wird das Modell auf Grundlage der Daten des 'Generations and Gender- Programms' der Vereinten Nationen empirisch überprüft. Im Ergebnis erweist sich, das Paare mit einem höheren Bildungsgrad generell eher Doppelverdiener-Arrangements suchen, das Ausmaß der Bildungseffekte sich aber nach Ländern und nach der jeweiligen Familienphase unterscheidet. Im Unterschied zu bisherigen Untersuchungen kann nicht festgestellt werden, dass die Bildungseffekte in den Ländern geringer sind, in denen Frauenerwerbstätigkeit gefördert wird. (IAB)

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Testa, Maria Rita, Valeria Bordone, Beata Osiewalska & Vegard Skirbekk (2016): Are daughters' childbearing intentions related to their mothers' socio-economic status? In: Demographic Research, Jg. 35, S. 581-616. DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.21

Abstract

"Background: Unlike actual fertility, fertility intentions are often found to be positively correlated with education. The literature explaining this paradox is scarce.
Objective: We aim to fill the gap in the existing scientific literature by searching for the main factors that influence highly educated women to plan a larger family size.
Methods: Using the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey for four countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, and Norway), we analyse the relationship between mother's socio-economic status and daughter's fertility intentions, controlling for daughter's socio-economic status and sib ship size. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models are employed to estimate the predictors of women's additionally intended number of children.
Results: We find that the effect of family of origin is exerted mainly through sib ship size among childless daughters: Daughters with more siblings intend to have more children. After the transition to parenthood, the effect of family of origin is exerted mainly through the mother's level of education: Daughters with highly educated mothers intend to have more children.
Conclusions: The empirical results suggest that the positive link between births intentions and level of education might not merely be an artefact generated by the design of cross-sectional surveys but the outcome of a better socio-economic status that allows forming positive reproductive plans.
Contribution: The positive role of mother's socio-economic status on daughter's fertility decision-making offers a valuable interpretation of the positive link between education and fertility intentions which goes beyond the alternative explanations referring to self-selection, partner effect, or time squeeze, and needs to be confirmed by further research." (Author's abstract, © Max-Planck-Institut für demographische Forschung) ((en))

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Boler, Esther Ann, Beata Javorcik & Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe (2015): Globalization: A woman's best friend? Exporters and the gender wage gap. (CESifo working paper 5296), München, 33 S.

Abstract

"While the impact of globalization on income inequality has received a lot of attention, little is known about its effect on the gender wage gap (GWG). This study argues that there is a systematic difference in the GWG between exporting firms and non-exporters. By the virtue of being exposed to higher competition, exporters require greater commitment and flexibility from their employees. If commitment is not easily observable and women are perceived as less committed workers than men, exporters will statistically discriminate against female employees and will exhibit a higher GWG than non-exporters. We test this hypothesis using matched employer-employee data from the Norwegian manufacturing sector from 1996 to 2010. Our identification strategy relies on an exogenous shock, namely, the legislative changes that increased the length of the parental leave that is available only to fathers. We argue that these changes have narrowed the perceived commitment gap between the genders and show that the initially higher GWG observed in exporting firms relative to non-exporters has gone down after the changes took place." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Børve, Hege Eggen & Brita Bungum (2015): Norwegian working fathers in global working life. In: Gender, Work and Organization, Jg. 22, H. 4, S. 309-323. DOI:10.1111/gwao.12086

Abstract

"This article examines the impact that global working life has on working fathers' practices and family life. The internationalization of working life implies that different traditions and practices encounter and challenge each other. The focus is on mothers' and children's experiences with work - family life and their perceptions of fathers working in global companies. Using a case study approach, we explore how working conditions in global knowledge work organizations affect fathers' work practices and family life. The findings indicate that working conditions in global working life are gendered and not conducive to the development of the Norwegian fatherhood ideal of the working father. This is due to global and flexible working conditions, which imply long working hours, extensive travel and jetlag-related problems. Global working conditions produce a traditional masculinity practice, what Connell terms 'transnational masculinity', which infringes upon fathers' practice of being present." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dieckhoff, Martina, Vanessa Gash & Nadia Steiber (2015): Measuring the effect of institutional change on gender inequality in the labour market. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 39, H. March, S. 59-75. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2014.12.001

Abstract

"This article examines the differential impact of labour market institutions on women and men. It carries out longitudinal analyses using repeat cross-sectional data from the EU Labour Force Survey 1992 - 2007 as well as time series data that measure institutional change over the same period. The results contribute to the literature on gendered employment, adding important insights into the impact of labour market institutions over and above family policies that have been the focus of most prior studies on the topic. We find differential effects of institutional change on male and female outcome. Our findings challenge the neo-classical literature on the topic. While our results suggest that men benefit more clearly than women from increases in employment protection, we do not find support for the neo-classical assertion that strong trade unions decrease female employment. Instead, increasing union strength is shown to have beneficial effects for both men's and women's likelihood of being employed on the standard employment contract. Furthermore, in line with other researchers, we find that rising levels of in kind state support to families improve women's employment opportunities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Koutentakis, Franciscos (2015): Gender unemployment dynamics. Evidence from ten advanced economies. In: Labour, Jg. 29, H. 1, S. 15-31. DOI:10.1111/labr.12044

Abstract

"The paper investigates gender unemployment dynamics in 10 advances economies applying a recent methodology on widely available Labour Force Surveys data. We calculate the job finding and separation rates for each gender and use them to construct the steady-state unemployment gap as well as two counterfactual gender unemployment gaps: one generated by differences only in job finding rates and the other by differences only in separation rates. We find that in all countries the gender unemployment gap attributed to differences in the job finding rate is lower than the gap attributed to differences in the separation rate, suggesting that gender differences in the separation rate are the major factor behind the gender unemployment gap." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pronzato, Chiara Daniela (2015): Fighting lone mothers' poverty through in-work benefits. Methodological issues and policy suggestions. In: CESIfo Economic Studies, Jg. 61, H. 1, S. 95-122. DOI:10.1093/cesifo/ifu021

Abstract

"Lone mothers are overrepresented among the poor in many European countries, with detrimental consequences for them and their children. Even in Norway, which is known for its successful economic and welfare development, lone mothers were at least three times more likely to be poor than married mothers. To redress this issue, the Norwegian government instituted a welfare reform in 1998, increasing lone-parent benefit levels and introducing working requirements. Using a quasi-experimental model, Mogstad and Pronzato (2008) found that the reform had a positive effect on lone mothers' labor supply and slightly reduced poverty. Yet given the extent of public resources invested, was this the most that policy makers could expect in terms of reducing poverty? To answer this question, I estimate a discrete choice model of work and welfare participation decisions, and use the behavioral estimates to derive the policy parameters that would have minimized poverty among lone mothers. To produce more robust results, a prerequisite for developing policy recommendations, the discrete choice model is validated by comparing its predictions with the estimated effects of the reform obtained from a quasi-experiment (Mogstad and Pronzato 2008)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rønsen, Marit & Ragni Hege Kitterød (2015): Gender-equalizing family policies and mothers' entry into paid work. Recent evidence from Norway. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 21, H. 1, S. 59-89. DOI:10.1080/13545701.2014.927584

Abstract

"Universal parental leaves with job protection and earnings compensation increase women's labor market attachment, but very long leaves may have negative consequences at both individual and societal levels. Using panel data from the period 1996 - 2010, we study whether it is possible to offset the potential negative effects on women's labor supply of long parental leaves by policies targeted especially at fathers, and policies making formal daycare cheaper and more easily available. Norway is used as example, since all recent extensions in the parental leave scheme have been reserved for fathers and at the same time the daycare sector has expanded rapidly. We find that Norwegian mothers did enter work faster after childbirth in the late 2000s than a decade earlier. The latest initiatives may thus have contributed to a shortening of women's career interruptions and a more equal division of paid and unpaid work among parents." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nes, Ragnhild Bang, Lars Johan Hauge, Tom Kornstad, Petter Kristensen, Markus A. Landolt, Leif T. Eskedal, Lorentz M. Irgens & Margarete E. Vollrath (2014): The impact of child behaviour problems on maternal employment. A longitudinal cohort study. In: Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Jg. 35, H. 3, S. 351-361. DOI:10.1007/s10834-013-9378-8

Abstract

"This prospective population-based study examined associations between children's behaviour problems and maternal employment. Information on children's behaviour problems at 3 years from 22.115 mothers employed before pregnancy and participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were linked to national register data on employment and relevant social background factors, mothers' self-reported susceptibility to anxiety/depression and mother-reports of day-care attendance and fathers' income. Mothers reporting their child to have severe (>2 SD) internalizing or severe combined behaviour problems (5 %) had excess risk of leaving paid employment irrespective of other important characteristics generally associated with maternal employment (RR 1.24 - 1.31). The attributable risk percent ranged from 30.3 % (internalizing problems) to 32.4 % (combined problems). Externalizing behaviour problems were not uniquely associated with mothers leaving employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Cooke, Lynn Prince, Jani Erola, Marie Evertsson, Michael Gähler, Juho Härkönen, Belinda Hewitt, Marika Jalovaara, Man-Yee Kan, Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, Letizia Mencarini, Jean-Francois Mignot, Dimitri Mortelmans, Anne-Rigt Poortman, Christian Schmitt & Heike Trappe (2013): Labor and love. Wives' employment and divorce risk in its socio-political context. In: Social Politics, Jg. 20, H. 4, S. 482-509. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxt016

Abstract

"We theorize how social policy affects marital stability vis-a-vis macro and micro effects of wives' employment on divorce risk in 11 Western countries. Correlations among 1990s aggregate data on marriage, divorce, and wives' employment rates, along with attitudinal and social policy information, seem to support specialization hypotheses that divorce rates are higher where more wives are employed and where policies support that employment. This is an ecological fallacy, however, because of the nature of the changes in specific countries. At the micro level, we harmonize national longitudinal data on the most recent cohort of wives marrying for the first time and find that the stabilizing effects of a gendered division of labor have ebbed. In the United States with its lack of policy support, a wife's employment still significantly increases the risk of divorce. A wife's employment has no significant effect on divorce risk in Australia, Flanders, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Finland, Norway, and Sweden, wives' employment predicts a significantly lower risk of divorce when compared with wives who are out of the labor force. The results indicate that greater policy support for equality reduces and may even reverse the relative divorce risk associated with a wife's employment." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gerecke, Megan (2013): A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries. (International Institute for Labour Studies. Discussion paper 215), Genf, 74 S.

Abstract

"Over the past 15 years, important gains have been made in gender equality. Gender gaps in educational attainment have shrunk substantially. In fact, in many high-income countries, young women's educational attainment now exceeds that of young men. At the same time, most countries have seen a significant increase in female employment rates - a trend which slowed only with the recent financial crisis." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Triventi, Moris (2013): The gender wage gap and its institutional context. A comparative analysis of European graduates. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 27, H. 4, S. 563-580. DOI:10.1177/0950017012460322

Abstract

"This article examines whether there is a gender gap in monthly wages among recent graduates in 11 European countries, and which variables account for it. We extend previous works considering a broader range of variables including perceived skills, responsibility at work, family obligations and attitudes to family and work. Regression analyses applied to data from the 'Research into Employment and professional FLEXibility' (REFLEX) survey (2005) show that in all countries there is a significant 'raw wage gap', but with noticeable cross-country variation. Decomposition analyses show that the 'residual wage gap' (discrimination) is lower in Nordic countries and higher in the Czech Republic, with the United Kingdom, continental and southern European countries placed in between them. Employment characteristics and working hours are the most important factors accounting for the gender gap. Wage discrimination is lower in countries with high trade union density, centralized collective bargaining, family-friendly policies, and high level of women's empowerment in society." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Simón, Hipólito (2012): The gender gap in earnings. An international comparison with European matched employer-employee data. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 44, H. 15, S. 1985-1999. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2011.558477

Abstract

"This article examines the origin of the cross-country heterogeneity of the gender wage gap in nine European countries using a unique harmonized international matched employer-employee dataset. Our novel findings suggest that cross-country differences in the intensity of female segregation into low-paying workplaces is a relevant source of international differences in the size of the gap and that international disparities in the characteristics of wage structures are not very influential. On the other hand, the evidence is not fully conclusive with respect to the influence on the variations of the gap of different macroeconomic, social and institutional country-specific features considered previously in the literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Havnes, Tarjei & Magne Mogstad (2011): Money for nothing? Universal child care and maternal employment. In: Journal of Public Economics, Jg. 95, H. 11/12, S. 1455-1465. DOI:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.05.016

Abstract

"The strong correlation between child care and maternal employment rates has led previous research to conclude that affordable and readily available child care is a driving force both of cross-country differences in maternal employment and of its rapid growth over the last decades. We analyze the introduction of subsidized, universally accessible child care in Norway. Our precise and robust difference-in-differences estimates reveal that there is little, if any, causal effect of child care on maternal employment, despite a strong correlation. Instead of increasing mothers' labor supply, the new subsidized child care mostly crowds out informal child care arrangements, suggesting a significant net cost of the child care subsidies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Petersen, Trond, Andrew M. Penner & Geir Hogsnes (2011): The male marital wage premium. Sorting vs. differential pay. In: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Jg. 64, H. 2, S. 283-304.

Abstract

"The authors examine whether male marital and parenthood premia arise due to differential pay by employers or from differential sorting of employees on occupations and establishments. They investigate these premia using matched employee-employer data from the period 1979-96 in Norway, a country with increased pressures on men to be more active in the family sphere and in which public policy has aimed at remaking the family institution. We find that the effect of marriage, and to a lesser extent of children, occurs mostly through sorting on occupations and occupation-establishment units. The role of differential pay from employers is marginal in explaining the marital and parenthood premia. Results assessing within-individual changes in wages suggest that about 80% of the marital premium is due to selection. The men who eventually marry and/or have children sort into the higher-paying occupations and occupation-establishment units even prior to marriage and parenthood." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Barth, Erling & Harald Dale-Olsen (2009): Monopsonistic discrimination, worker turnover, and the gender wage gap. (IZA discussion paper 3930), Bonn, 40 S.

Abstract

"Motivated by models of worker flows, we argue in this paper that monopsonistic discrimination may be a substantial factor behind the overall gender wage gap. On matched employer-employee data from Norway, we estimate establishment-specific wage premiums separately for men and women, conditioning on fixed individual effects. Regressions of worker turnover on the wage premium identify less wage elastic labour supply facing each establishment of women than that of men. Workforce gender composition is strongly related to employers' wage policies. The results suggest that 70-90 percent of the gender wage gap for low-educated workers may be attributed to differences in labour market frictions between men and women, while the similar figures for high-educated workers ranges from 20 to 70 percent." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Barth, Erling & Harald Dale-Olsen (2009): Monopsonistic discrimination, worker turnover, and the gender wage gap. In: Labour economics, Jg. 16, H. 5, S. 589-597. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2009.02.004

Abstract

"Motivated by models of worker flows, we argue in this paper that monopsonistic discrimination may be a substantial factor behind the overall gender wage gap. Using matched employer - employee data from Norway, we estimate establishment-specific wage premiums separately for men and women, conditioning on fixed individual effects. Regressions of worker turnover on the wage premium identify less wage elastic labour supply facing each establishment of women than that of men. Workforce gender composition is strongly related to employers' wage policies. The results suggest that 70 - 90% of the gender wage gap for low-educated workers may be attributed to differences in labour market frictions between men and women, while the similar figures for high-educated workers ranges from 20 to 70%." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dommermuth, Lars & Ragni Hege Kitterød (2009): Fathers' employment in a father-friendly welfare state. Does fatherhood affect men's working hours? In: Community, work & family, Jg. 12, H. 4, S. 417-436. DOI:10.1080/13668800902753960

Abstract

"An important aim of Norwegian work - family policies is to enhance the family role of fathers. Time-use surveys show a slight increase in fathers' family work, but we still know little about the relationship between men's family circumstances and working hours. On the one hand, policy measures encourage the greater involvement of fathers in family life. On the other hand, men are the main providers in most couples and employment and breadwinning are still important components of men's fathering identity. In this paper, we examine the relationship between fatherhood and working time, with a particular focus on the possible effects of the number and ages of children. Utilizing the Norwegian Labour Force Survey 2005, we find that men's contractual working hours are not significantly affected by their parental status, but men do curtail their actual working hours when they have young children, and particularly if there is only one child in the household. However, men with school-aged children actually work longer hours than non-fathers and men with young children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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MacGinnity, Frances, Philip J. O'Connell, Kate Hunt, Elin Kvande, Carol Emslie, Tracey Warren, Cecile Guillaume, Jacqueline H. Watts, Gillian Pascall, Sigtona Halrynjo, Sophie Pochic, Elizabeth Fox & Helen Russell (sonst. bet. Pers.) (2009): Work-life Balance. A matter of choice? In: Gender, Work and Organization, Jg. 16, H. 1, S. 1-172. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00429.x

Abstract

"Existing literature casts the work-life interface in terms of three issues: time management; inter-role conflict (role overload and interference) and care arrangements for dependents. This special issue looks through a gender lens at the ways in which both men and women negotiate the relationship between work and home life, particularly when they have caring responsibilities at home. It explores the relationship between formal policies and their impact on men and women's ability to effect a choice in shaping their careers and their day-to-day commitments." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku)

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Halrynjo, Sigtona & Selma Therese Lyng (2009): Preferences, constraints or schemas of devotion? Exploring Norwegian mothers' withdrawals from high-commitment careers. In: The British Journal of Sociology, Jg. 60, H. 2, S. 321-343. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-4446.2009.01233.x

Abstract

"Despite decades of focus on gender equality and work-family balance, parenthood still affects mothers' and fathers' careers differently. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Norwegian mothers who are relinquishing high-commitment careers of law and consultancy, this paper questions the adequacy of established explanations emphasizing constraints vs. individual preferences. Our sample of female professionals living in a well-developed welfare state is particularly apt to explore the processes and mechanisms upholding the statistically gendered pattern of women reducing their work commitment after childbirth. These doubly privileged mothers might be considered to have the best odds for combining career and work commitment with motherhood. Thus, we argue that the approach emphasizing practical constraints does not sufficiently account for the withdrawal from high-commitment careers among these female professionals. Nevertheless, we are not content with the claim of Preference Theory that this shift in commitment is merely a matter of 'not-so-dedicated' women discovering their 'genuine' preferences. Rather, in order to understand why and how this shift occurs, we explore the culturally constructed rationalities and schemas of both work and family devotions. We specifically examine the circumstances, mechanisms and steps in a seemingly individual process of making the shift in commitment from a promising career to a family-friendly job. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates how generous parental leave arrangements designed to enhance gender equality and work-family balance by simply reducing practical constraints may have limited - or even counterproductive - impact within high-commitment occupations where the 'irreplaceability' of workers is taken for granted. Our findings indicate that unless the culturally (re)produced discourses, demands and expectations of both work and family are exposed and challenged, even intentionally gender neutral work-family policies will continue to facilitate mothers' career withdrawals, expressed as modified individual preferences." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Havnes, Tarjei & Magne Mogstad (2009): Money for nothing? Universal child care and maternal employment. (IZA discussion paper 4504), Bonn, 30 S.

Abstract

"The strong correlation between child care and maternal employment rates has led previous research to conclude that affordable and readily available child care is a driving force both of cross-country differences in maternal employment and of its rapid growth over the last decades. We analyze the introduction of subsidized, universally accessible child care in Norway. Our precise and robust difference-in-differences estimates reveal that there is little, if any, causal effect of child care on maternal employment, despite a strong correlation. Instead of increasing mothers' labor supply, the new subsidized child care mostly crowds out informal child care arrangements, suggesting a significant net cost of the child care subsidies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Lohmann, Henning, Frauke H. Peter, Tine Rostgaard & Stephen P. Jenkins (2009): Towards a framework for assessing family policies in the EU. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 88), Paris, 94 S. DOI:10.1787/223883627348

Abstract

"This report presents the results of a first attempt to create a framework for assessing the performance of national family policies. The report is part of a joint EU and OECD project, which aims to help the EU Government Expert Group on Demographic Issues in evaluating national family policies. The idea behind the framework is that it allows individual countries to compare their overall performance in the area of family policies with the performance of other countries. The main focus of the report is policies for families with smaller children. The framework provides a set of cross-nationally comparable indicators on contexts, policy measures, and outcomes, organised on a systematic basis. The policy measure indicators presented in the report cover leave schemes, early childhood education and care, family benefits and workplace policies. The indicators build upon, interalia, previous work by the OECD in various studies on family-friendly policies that were carried out on a cross-national basis using different sets of indicators. Most of these indicators are today available in the OECD Family Database. Wherever the OECD Family Database contains indicators for the majority of EU member states and OECD countries, these data have been used in the present study. Otherwise, data from other cross-national databases have been included. Each indicator in the framework is presented as a single-standing indicator in the general absence of scientific consensus on different aggregation weights. In the report no explicit ranking of countries has been attempted, instead the relative position of countries has been illustrated with the help of standard deviation scores. In the last part of the report the linkages between policy aims and the various context, outcome and policy measures are indicated, which help construct 'score cards'. This 'score card-approach' is illustrated for three countries: Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The report offers tools for assessment that may be developed further, and should offer an approach to using the OECD Family Database, acknowledging this unique data source for cross-country comparisons in the field of family policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Takhtamanova, Yelena & Eva Sierminska (2009): Gender, moentary policy, and employment. The case of nine OECD countries. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 15, H. 3, S. 323-353. DOI:10.1080/13545700902893122

Abstract

"In many countries, low and stable inflation is the focus of monetary policy. Recent empirical evidence from developing countries indicates, however, that the costs of reducing inflation are disproportionately borne by women. This paper seeks to determine whether a similar pattern is evident in nine Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) countries, using quarterly data for 1980-2004. The study examines economy-wide and sectoral employment effects by gender by utilizing two methodologies: single equation regression and vector autoregression analysis. Results indicate that the link between monetary policy instruments (short-term interest rates) and employment in the industrial countries under investigation is weak and does not vary by gender." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Betzelt, Sigrid (2008): Activation policies from a gender-sensible citizenship perspective. A tentative analytical framework. (ZeS-Arbeitspapier 2008/03), Bremen, 35 S.

Abstract

"Das Papier entwickelt einen vorläufigen Analyserahmen für den systematischen Vergleich unterschiedlicher Typen von Aktivierungspolitiken im Hinblick auf ihre Implikationen für das Wohlfahrtsdreieck zwischen Staat-Markt-Familie und Geschlechterungleichheiten. Ausgangspunkt ist die Erkenntnis, dass das inzwischen universell gültige arbeitsmarktpolitische 'Aktivierungsparadigma', d. h. die (Re-)Kommodifizierung aller erwerbsfähigen Bürgerinnen und Bürger, die Wohlfahrtsproduktion der Familie insofern betrifft als es mit der vor allem von Frauen unbezahlt geleisteten Sorgearbeit für Angehörige kollidiert. Auf dem theoretischen Hintergrund sozialer BürgerInnenrechte wird angenommen, dass diese unbezahlte Sorgearbeit weder vollständig kommodifiziert und de-familialisiert werden kann, noch dass dies gesellschaftlich wünschenswert ist. Vielmehr bedeutet die Idee einer 'inklusiven sozialen Staatsbürgerschaft' wie sie in der feministischen Wohlfahrtsstaatsforschung entwickelt wurde, dass sie sowohl Erwerbs- als auch Sorgeverantwortung aller Bürger und Bürgerinnen als Basis für Anerkennung und Subsistenzrechte einschließt. Ausgehend von diesem dem Aktivierungsparadigma inhärenten Spannungsverhältnis werden zwei zentrale Forschungsfragen formuliert: Erstens, wie beantworten die unterschiedlichen Ländervarianten von Aktivierungspolitik dieses Spannungsverhältnis und welche Interdependenzen bestehen zwischen Wohlfahrts- und Gender-Regimen und dem spezifischen Aktivierungstyp? Zweitens, was sind die Ergebnisse dieses Zusammenspiels im Hinblick auf soziale Ungleichheiten besonders von Geschlecht und Klasse und hinsichtlich der Idee sozial inklusiver Staatsbürgerschaft? Um diese Fragen für die vergleichende Forschung zu operationalisieren, wird ein vorläufiger Analyserahmen vorgeschlagen, der sieben relevante Dimensionen und entsprechende Indikatoren für deren Messung und Bewertung enthält. Dieses Analyseinstrument wurde für eine Fallstudie deutscher Aktivierungspolitik angewendet, deren zentrale Befunde im Licht vergleichender Forschung diskutiert werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Casarico, Alessandra & Alessandro Sommacal (2008): Labor income taxation, human capital and growth. The role of child care. (CESifo working paper 2363), München, 32 S.

Abstract

"This paper studies the implications of introducing child care in the human capital production function when assessing the effects of labor income taxation on growth. We develop an OLG model where formal schooling and child care enter the human capital production function as complements and we compare it with a model where only formal schooling matters for skill formation. Using a numerical analysis we find that, depending on the quality of child care services relative to parental care, the omission of child care from the technology of skills' formation can significantly bias the results related to the effects of labor income taxation on growth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))