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Biasi, Paola, Maria De Paola & Francesca Gioia (2025): When Mothers Out-Earn Fathers: Effects on Fathers' Decisions to Take Paternity and Parental Leave. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17601), Bonn, 36 S.

Abstract

"This study investigates the influence of the male breadwinner norm on fathers' decisions regarding childcare responsibilities. We study the complex interplay between economic factors and gender norms in shaping the division of household labor within families by analyzing the impact a breadwinning mother has on fathers' choices regarding paternity leave (fully subsidized) and parental leave (partially or not subsidized). We exploit administrative data, provided by the Italian National Security Institute (INPS), including demographic and working characteristics of both parents together with information on the use of paternity and parental leave by fathers in the 2013-2023 period. We find that, in line with the "doing gender" hypothesis, when the leave is fully subsidized, as for paternity leave, fathers are less likely to engage in childcare when their wives earn more than they do. In contrast, this dynamic does not apply in cases of parental leave, where the economic costs of aligning with the gender norm are substantial. The effects we find are robust when replacing the actual probability of there being an out-earning mother with the potential probability and are amplified by the salience of the gender identity norm." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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De Nardi, Mariacristina, Giulio Fella & Gonzalo Paz-Pardo (2025): Wage Risk and Government and Spousal Insurance. In: The Review of Economic Studies, Jg. 92, H. 2, S. 954-980. DOI:10.1093/restud/rdae042

Abstract

"The extent to which households can self-insure depends on family structure and wage risk. We calibrate a model of couples and singles’ savings and labour supply under two types of wage processes. The first wage process is the canonical—age-independent, linear—one that is typically used to evaluate government insurance provision. The second wage process is a flexible one. We use our model to evaluate the optimal mix of the two most common types of means-tested benefits—IW versus income floor. The canonical wage process underestimates wage persistence for women and thus implies that IW benefits should account for most benefit income. In contrast, the richer wage process that matches the wage data well, implies that the income floor should be the main benefit source, similarly to the system in place in the U.K. This stresses that allowing for rich wage dynamics is important to properly evaluate policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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García-Sierra, Alicia (2025): Do Mothers’ Occupation-Specific Skills Impact Children’s Developmental Processes? In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 100. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101102

Abstract

"This study examines whether mothers’ occupation-specific skills influence children’s development. I argue that while education is a valuable proxy for parental skills, it fails to capture an important dimension of human capital: the skills parents acquire through their occupational experiences. Parents enhance their human capital through on-the-job learning, with occupation-specific expertise becoming integral to their skill sets. Combining longitudinal family data (NLSY79-CYA) and the O*NET dataset, I employ two-way fixed effects, inverse probability weighting, and asymmetric fixed effects models. I exploit changes in the required skill levels of mothers’ occupations following job switches. Results indicate that when mothers transition to roles requiring higher levels of mathematical skills, their children’s mathematical abilities improve. Similar trends are observed for literacy skills, although the effects are less consistently robust. Additionally, longer maternal job tenure amplifies these effects, which are primarily driven by increases in skill requirements rather than decreases. Furthermore, children in high-SES families benefit more from increases in their mothers’ occupational skill requirements than children in low-SES families." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.) ((en))

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Guner, Nezih, Yuliya A. Kulikova & Arnau Valladares-Esteban (2025): Does the Added Worker Effect Matter? In: Review of Economic Dynamics, Jg. 56. DOI:10.1016/j.red.2025.101271

Abstract

"In the US, the likelihood of a married woman entering the labor force in a given month increases by 60% if her husband loses his job, known as the added worker effect. However, only 1.5% to 3.5% of married women entering the labor force in a given month can be added workers. This raises the question of whether the added worker effect can significantly impact aggregate labor market outcomes. Building on Shimer (2012), we introduce a new methodology to evaluate how joint transitions of married couples across labor market states affect aggregate participation, employment, and unemployment rates. Our results show that the added worker effect significantly impacts aggregate outcomes, increasing married women's participation and employment by 0.72 and 0.65 percentage points each month. Additionally, the added worker effect reduces the cyclicality of married women's participation and unemployment, lowering the correlation between GDP's cyclical components and participation by 4.5 percentage points and unemployment by 8 percentage points." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Herzberg-Druker, Efrat (2025): Couples' division of paid work and rising income inequality: A study of 21 OECD countries. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 99. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101084

Abstract

"Numerous scholars have explored the association between women's changing employment patterns and the changing income inequality in recent decades. While most studies indicate that increased women's employment reduces household inequality, a few suggest the opposite effect. This research investigated whether shifts in the division of paid work (i.e., changes in the working hours) among heterosexual couples, as compared to changes in women's work alone, contribute to changes in income inequality. It also examined whether the selection of couples into the different types of division of paid work based on their level of education is a mechanism underlying the growing inequality. Based on counterfactual analyses of data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), encompassing 21 OECD countries, the findings demonstrate shifts in couples' division of paid work, particularly the increase in fulltime dual-earner households, are associated with rising income inequality in most countries studied. However, changes in educational attainment were not found to be the mechanism underlying the association between changes in couples' division of paid work and changes in income inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.) ((en))

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Kawano, Laura, Sara LaLumia, Shanthi Ramnath & Michael Stevens (2025): Who picks up the slack? Understanding spousal responses to unemployment spells. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 96. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102732

Abstract

"We use a large panel of married households to update estimated added worker effects. In response to a primary earner’s job loss, secondary earners are 1.1 to 2.4 percentage points more likely to work and compensate for 3.6 to 5.1 percent of the displaced worker’s lost earnings. When a secondary earner is displaced, spousal employment is unchanged but there is a substantial earnings reduction. These small compensatory responses are explained by an increased probability that the nondisplaced spouse exits employment, either through correlated unemployment shocks or retirement. Conditional on relative-earner status, sex-based differences in added worker effects are small." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Lee, Sangsoo (2025): Men’s and women’s aversion to female breadwinning: Linking individual attitudes to macro-level contexts. In: Social science research, Jg. 132. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103233

Abstract

"Despite the increased prevalence of female breadwinning (i.e., marriages in which the wife outearns her husband) across the globe, our understanding of individuals’ attitudes toward such relationships remains limited. Using the seventh wave of the World Values Survey, this study examines how macro-level contexts are related to men’s and women’s aversion to female breadwinning. There are four key findings. First, men, on average, exhibit a greater aversion to female breadwinning compared to women. Second, in countries with greater macro-level gender equality, both men and women are less averse to female breadwinning. Third, in countries with higher rates of men’s unemployment, there is a wider gender gap in aversion to female breadwinning. This trend is primarily driven by men’s heightened aversion to female breadwinning in such countries, which suggests men may respond to economic uncertainty by overemphasizing their roles as primary breadwinners to bolster their endangered masculinity. Fourth, in countries with higher levels of economic development, both men and women are less averse to female breadwinning, resulting in a narrower gender gap. This study highlights the importance of linking individual attitudes toward female breadwinning to macro-level contexts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Löwe, Paul Severin (2025): Does a Civil Service Job Matter? The Influence of Civil Service Employment on the Transition to the First and the Second Child for Women and Men in Germany. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Jg. 77, H. 3, S. 321-354. DOI:10.1007/s11577-025-01017-w

Abstract

"In dieser Studie wird der Einfluss einer Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Dienst im Vergleich zur Privatwirtschaft auf die Übergangsrate zum ersten und zweiten Kind untersucht. Der öffentliche Dienst wird häufig mit einem familienfreundlichen Arbeitsumfeld in Verbindung gebracht, das die Möglichkeit bietet, einen Beitrag zur Lösung des gesellschaftlichen Problems der niedrigen Geburtenrate zu leisten. In anderen europäischen Ländern wurde ein solcher Einfluss nachgewiesen, aber in Deutschland fehlte bisher eine Analyse auf individueller Ebene. Unter Verwendung von Daten aus dem Deutschen Familienpanel (Pairfam) nutzen wir diskrete Ereignisverlaufsmodelle in einer Piecewise-constant-Spezifikation, um den Übergang zum ersten Kind in Abhängigkeit von der Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Dienst oder in der Privatwirtschaft zu berechnen. Wir finden einen inhaltlich bedeutenden und statistisch signifikanten positiven Einfluss der Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Dienst auf den Übergang zum zweiten Kind für Frauen. Für Männer wird ein inhaltlich bedeutender, aber statistisch nicht signifikanter negativer Einfluss auf den Übergang zum zweiten Kind festgestellt. Weder für Frauen noch für Männer lässt sich ein inhaltlich bedeutender oder statistisch signifikanter Einfluss auf den Übergang zum ersten Kind feststellen. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Dienst einen Ansatzpunkt zur Beeinflussung der Fertilität, insbesondere nach der Geburt, bietet." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Rafols, Radine (2025): Gender norms and child penalties. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 97. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102770

Abstract

"I study how early gender beliefs shape the labor market consequences of parenthood. Drawing on panel data from the NLSY79, I document sharp and persistent gender gaps in wages, hours, employment, and earnings following childbirth. Mothers with egalitarian norms exhibit stronger labor force attachment and suffer smaller penalties across all outcomes. To understand mechanisms, I demonstrate that gender norms affect decisions that typically correlate with labor market success. A causal mediation analysis reveals that the indirect effect of norm beliefs on fertility explain a sizable share of the gap between modern and traditional mothers, while education, marriage timing, and occupational sorting play more limited roles." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Saxonberg, Steven (2025): Exploring the Alternatives to the Male-Breadwinner Model – The Implications for Social Policy Study. In: Social Policy and Society, Jg. 24, H. 1, S. 6-15. DOI:10.1017/S1474746424000113

Abstract

"This article begins by discussing some of the main approaches that have emerged to gender and family policy, before proceeding to discuss more modern trends. It begins by discussing institutional approaches, such as the male-breadwinner model, defamilialisation, degenderisation. Then it discusses cultural approaches, such as the national ideals of care, gendered moral rationalities, and Hakim’s preference theory. Then this article continues by briefly discussing attempts to broaden the discussion by bringing in children (including through the capabilities approach) and by adding an intersectional perspective." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Shiu, Ji-Liang, Sisi Zhang & Peter Gottschalk (2025): Family Income Dynamics 1970-2018: Putting the Pieces Together. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 43, H. S1, S. S123-S151. DOI:10.1086/732769

Abstract

"This paper examines the driving forces of family income dynamics by developing a unified framework to estimate permanent and transitory variation in head earnings, spouse earnings, and transfer income, as well as permanent and transitory correlations between these income sources. A complete decomposition using the PSID 1970 – 2018 shows that transitory variation in head earnings alone accounts for more than half of the total family income inequality. Insurance against transitory shocks to head earnings comes primarily from transfer income rather than spouse earnings. Both permanent and transitory variations in spouse earnings have an equalizing effect on family income inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Boneva, Teodora, Marta Golin, Katja Kaufmann & Christopher Rauh (2024): Beliefs About Maternal Labor Supply. (CRC TR 224 discussion paper series / EPoS Collaborative Research Center Transregio 224 517), Bonn, 86 S.

Abstract

"We provide representative evidence on the perceived returns to maternal labor supply. A mother's decision to work is perceived to have sizable impacts on child skills, family outcomes, and the mother's future labor market outcomes. Beliefs about the impact of additional household income can account for some, but not all, of the perceived positive effects. Perceived returns are predictive of labor supply intentions under different policy scenarios related to childcare availability and quality, two factors that are also perceived as important. An information experiment reveals that providing information about benefits of mothers working causally affects labor supply intentions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Calvo, Paula, Ilse Lindenlaub & Ana Reynoso (2024): Marriage Market and Labor Market Sorting. In: The Review of Economic Studies, Jg. 91, H. 6, S. 3316-3361. DOI:10.1093/restud/rdae010

Abstract

"We develop a new equilibrium model in which households’ labor supply choices form the link between sorting on the marriage market and sorting on the labor market. We first show that in theory, the nature of home production—whether partners’ hours are complements or substitutes—shapes equilibrium labor supply as well as marriage and labour market sorting. We then estimate our model using German data to empirically assess the nature of home production, and find that spouses’ home hours are complements. We investigate to what extent complementarity in home hours drives sorting and inequality. We find that home production complementarity strengthens positive marriage sorting and reduces the gender gap in hours and in labor sorting. This puts significant downward pressure on the gender wage gap and on within-household income inequality, but fuels between-household inequality. Our estimated model sheds new light on the sources of inequality in today’s Germany, and—by identifying important shifts in home production technology toward more complementarity—on the evolution of inequality over time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Coskun, Sena & Husnu C. Dalgic (2024): The emergence of procyclical fertility: The role of breadwinner women. In: Journal of monetary economics, Jg. 142, 2023-10-11. DOI:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2023.10.004

Abstract

"Die Fertilität in den USA weist ein zunehmend prozyklisches Muster auf. Wir argumentieren, dass dieses Muster dem Ernährerstatus von Frauen geschuldet ist: (i) der Anteil der Frauen am gesamten Familieneinkommen ist über die Zeit gestiegen; (ii) Frauen arbeiten mit größerer Wahrscheinlichkeit in relativ stabilen und antizyklischen Branchen, während Männer eher in volatilen und prozyklischen Branchen tätig sind. Dies führt zu einem antizyklischen Einkommensgefälle zwischen den Geschlechtern, da Frauen in Rezessionen zu Ernährerinnen werden, was einen Versicherungseffekt des Fraueneinkommens bewirkt. Unser quantitativer Rahmen besteht aus einem allgemeinen Gleichgewichts-OLG-Modell mit endogener Fertilität und Humankapital. Wir zeigen, dass die Veränderung der Zyklizität der Geschlechterbeschäftigung 38 bis 44 Prozent des Auftretens von prozyklischer Fertilität erklären kann. Unsere kontrafaktische Analyse zeigt, dass in einer Welt, in der Männer Krankenpfleger und Frauen Bauarbeiter werden, eine antizyklische Fertilität zu beobachten sein würde, allerdings auf Kosten einer geringeren Humankapitalakkumulation, da sich die Familien bei der Abwägung zwischen Qualität und Quantität stärker auf die Quantität konzentrieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Gihleb, Rania, Osea Giuntella & Luca Stella (2024): Relative income within the household, gender norms, and well-being. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 19. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0306180

Abstract

"This study examines the effects of relative household income on individual well-being, mental health, and physical health in Germany. Consistent with previous studies, we document a dip in the distribution of households in which the wife out-earns the husband. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that husbands in couples in which the wife earns just more exhibit lower satisfaction with life, work, and health, and report worse physical health. Women in these couples report lower satisfaction with life and health, and worse mental health. Results on life, work, and health satisfaction among women are more pronounced in West Germany, consistent with previous evidence of gender norm differences between East and West Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Guner, Nezih, Ezgi Kaya & Virginia Sánchez-Marcos (2024): Labor Market Institutions and Fertility. (HCEO working paper / Human capital and economic opportunity global working group 2024,006), Chicago, Ill., 74 S.

Abstract

"Among high-income countries, fertility rates differ significantly, with some experiencing total fertility rates as low as 1 to 1.3 children per woman. However, the reasons behind low fertility rates are not well understood. We show that uncertainty created by dual labor markets, the coexistence of temporary and open-ended contracts, and the inflexibility of work schedules are crucial to understanding low fertility. Using rich administrative data from the Spanish Social Security records, we document that temporary contracts are associated with a lower probability of first birth. With Time Use data, we also show that women with children are less likely to work in jobs with split-shift schedules. Such jobs have a long break in the middle of the day, and present a concrete example of inflexible work arrangements and fixed time cost of work. We then build a life-cycle model in which married women decide whether to work, how many children to have, and when to have them. Reforms that eliminate duality or split-shift schedules increase women's labor force participation and reduce the employment gap between mothers and non-mothers. They also increase fertility for women who are employed. Reforming these labor market institutions and providing childcare subsidies would increase the completed fertility of married women to 1.8 children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Han, Sinn Won, Ohjae Gowen & Mary C. Brinton (2024): When mothers do it all: gender-role norms, women's employment, and fertility intentions in post-industrial societies. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 309-325. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcad036

Abstract

"Post-industrial countries with high rates of female labour force participation have generally had low fertility rates, but recent studies demonstrate that this is no longer the case. This has generated increased attention to how greater gender equality in the private sphere of the household may contribute to a positive relationship between women’s employment rates and fertility. Building on recent scholarship demonstrating the multidimensionality of gender-role attitudes, we argue that conversely, the prevalence of a gender-role ideology that supports women’s employment but places greater priority on their role as caregivers may depress the higher-order fertility intentions of working mothers. Using data from 25 European countries, we find that this type of gender-role ideology (egalitarian familism) moderates the relationship between mothers’ full-time employment and their intention to have a second child. This holds even after accounting for key features of the policy environment that are likely to mitigate work–family conflict. The analysis suggests that conflicting normative expectations for women’s work and family roles tend to dampen working mothers’ second-order fertility intentions, independent of work–family reconciliation policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kowalewska, Helen & Agnese Vitali (2024): The female-breadwinner well-being 'penalty': differences by men's (un)employment and country. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 293-308. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcad034

Abstract

"This article examines the relationship between female breadwinning and life satisfaction in heterosexual couples. We extend previous research by treating the man’s employment status as a variable that helps to explain rather than confounds this relationship, and by comparing multiple countries through regression analyses of European Social Survey data (Rounds 2–9). Results provide evidence of a female-breadwinner well-being ‘penalty’: men and women are less satisfied with their lives under the female-breadwinner arrangement versus the dual-earner and male-breadwinner alternatives. The penalty is marginal when the male partner is part-time employed but sizeable when he is jobless. However, there are gender differences: after controls for composition, gender-role attitudes, and partners’ relative incomes, the penalty becomes negligible for women while remaining large for men. Analyses suggest these gender differences are linked to high male unemployment among female-breadwinner couples: whereas women appear roughly equally adversely affected by a male partner’s unemployment as by their own, men report substantially higher well-being when she is unemployed instead of him. Country comparisons indicate that while this female-breadwinner well-being penalty is largest in more conservative contexts, especially Germany, it is fairly universal across Europe. So, even in countries where women’s employment is more widespread and cultural and institutional support for the male-breadwinner model is weaker, unemployed men with breadwinner wives are not immune from the social stigma and psychological difficulties associated with their gender non-conformity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Löffler, Verena (2024): The Cost of Fair Pay: How Child Care Work Wages Affect Formal Child Care Hours, Informal Child Care Hours, and Employment Hours. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 1205), Berlin, 81 S.

Abstract

"The debate on the effects of child care policies on household and individual behavior is substantial but lacks a discussion of the unintended consequences of rising wages in the child care work sector. To address this gap in the debate, the relation between rising pay and formal child care hours, informal child care hours, and employment hours is analyzed empirically with a case study on child care in Germany between 2012 and 2019. Among other findings, the evidence demonstrates that the consumption of formal child care hours of middle- and high-income households in eastern Germany correlates negatively with child care work wages, indicating price elasticity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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McErlean, Kimberly & Jennifer L. Glass (2024): How Do Households Fare Economically When Mothers Become Their Primary Financial Support? In: Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Jg. 45, H. 2, S. 395-409. DOI:10.1007/s10834-023-09922-y

Abstract

"The economic circumstances in which children grow up have garnered much scholarly attention due to their close associations with well-being over the life course. While it has been well-documented that children are increasingly growing up in households where their primary financial support comes from their mother, regardless of whether she is partnered or single, the consequences for household economic well-being are unclear. We use the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation to quantify how a mother’s transition into primary earner status affects the economic well-being of her household and if the effects differ based on her relationship status. On average, household income declines and more households are unable to meet their economic needs once the mother becomes the primary earner. However, these declines in income are concentrated among partnered-mother households and mothers who transition from partnered to single during the year. At the same time, although many single mothers see an increase in household income, the majority of these households are still unable to meet their economic needs. These findings suggest that the shift to a welfare system that requires employment coupled with structural changes in the labor market have created financial hardship for most families." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Sánchez-Mira, Núria (2024): (Un)doing gender in female breadwinner households: Gender relations and structural change. In: Gender, work & organization, Jg. 31, H. 4, S. 1196-1213. DOI:10.1111/gwao.12775

Abstract

"The paper explores working class couples' experiences of female-breadwinning during the Great Recession in Spain. It examines the extent to which couples' adaptations to these gender-atypical work-family arrangements have led to processes of (un)doing gender. The study is based on the analysis of 24 semi-structured biographical interviews and life history calendars with men and women in 12 heterosexual couples who have gone through different breadwinning statuses during their trajectory. Findings show that men whose partners were primary breadwinners for a period make the greatest effort to preserve the male-breadwinner illusion. In contrast, female breadwinners identify with a co-breadwinner model and do not understate their own economic contribution. Men's insufficient participation in housework and child care is experienced by women with disapproval, which turns into open conflict when the women perform the bulk of such work. The paper concludes that adaptation to unconventional arrangements can constitute a catalyst for processes that undo gender, but more qualitative longitudinal research is needed to determine how economistic and normative factors interact dynamically across different countries and social groups in shaping these processes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Artmann, Elisabeth, Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln & Giulia Giupponi (2023): Forward-Looking Labor Supply Responses to Changes in Pension Wealth. Evidence from Germany. (CESifo working paper 10427), München, 48 S.

Abstract

"We provide new evidence of forward-looking labor supply responses to changes in pension wealth. We exploit a 2014 German reform that increased pension wealth for mothers by an average of 4.4% per child born before January 1, 1992. Using administrative data on the universe of working histories, we implement a difference-in-differences design comparing women who had their first child before versus after January 1, 1992. We document significant reductions in labor earnings, driven by intensive margin responses. Our estimates imply that, on average, an extra euro of pension wealth in a given period reduces unconditional labor earnings by 54 cents." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bratti, Massimiliano (2023): Fertility postponement and labor market outcomes. Postponed childbearing improves women's labor market outcomes but may reduce overall fertility. (IZA world of labor 117), Bonn, 11 S. DOI:10.15185/izawol.117.v2

Abstract

"Die zeitliche Verlagerung der Mutterschaft kann sich für Frauen ökonomisch positiv auswirken, indem sie vor der Geburt ihr Humankapital vergrößern, ihre Erwerbsbeteiligung intensivieren und ihr Einkommen steigern können. Umgekehrt kann dies die Realisierung von (weiteren) Kinderwünschen verhindern. Empirisch lässt sich zeigen, dass eine Verschiebung der Mutterschaft Arbeitsmarktnähe und Lohnniveau deutlich erhöht, zugleich aber weniger Kinder zu haben wahrscheinlicher macht. Hier sollte die Familienpolitik ansetzen: durch öffentliche Kinderbetreuungsangebote, finanzielle Anreize für Firmen, die betriebliche Angebote schaffen, sowie durch Elternzeitprogramme, die die Kinderbetreuungsaufgaben gerechter auf Väter und Mütter verteilen. Facebook Twitter" (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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English, Claire & Gareth Brown (2023): My mum is on strike! Social reproduction and the (emotional) labor of 'mothering work' in neoliberal Britain. In: Gender, work & organization, Jg. 30, H. 6, S. 1941-1959. DOI:10.1111/gwao.13027

Abstract

"This article will explore the ways mothers and carers use the term ‘emotional labor’ to describe the exhaustion and burnout associated with socially reproductive tasks, rather than the performance of affective labor in the workplace. Scholars of social reproduction theory claim that emotion is key to understanding the specificities of gendered alienation, yet it remains under‐theorised. This article seeks to understand how the emotional lives of carers have been transformed by neoliberal processes that have intensified labor both within and beyond the home. Drawing on interviews with participants from the 2019 ‘My Mum is on Strike’ stay and play event, alongside ethnographic insights from online mothering blogs, sometimes referred to as the ‘mamasphere’ (Wilson et al., 2017), this article seeks to contextualizethe experiences of carers who narrate their reproductive labor as emotional ‘work’. Given the conditions of neoliberal rationality and the marketization of society, where every ‘field of activity… and entity (whether public or private, whether person, business, or state) is understood as a market and governed as a firm’ (Brown, 2015), emotional labor and the associated gendered expectations may begin to ‘feel like’ work, and we argue that this is felt in a specific way by those carrying out mothering labor, warranting further academic investigation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Hsu, Chen-Hao (2023): How women's employment instability affects birth transitions: the moderating role of family policies in 27 European countries. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 39, H. 6, S. 935-956. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcad037

Abstract

"Why women in some countries are more likely than others to postpone childbirth when facing employment instability? This study uses 2010–2019 EU-SILC panel data to explore whether the impacts of women’s employment instability, including being unemployed or temporarily employed by fixed-term contracts, on the first- and second-birth transitions differ across 27 European countries and how governments’ provisions of different family policies moderate such relationships. Results showed that while unemployment and temporary employment could generally delay women’s first- and second-birth transition, such effects varied across European countries and depended on the levels of family policy provisions. Countries with more generous family cash benefits were associated with less negative and even positive effects of women’s employment instability on birth transitions. On the other hand, the birth effects of women’s employment instability did not vary significantly across countries according to the length of paid maternity/parental leaves. Most strikingly, countries with higher childcare coverage rates were associated with more negative effects of women’s employment instability on birth transitions. These findings highlight the importance of family policy contexts in shaping women’s childbirth responses to unstable employment circumstances." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Moreno-Mínguez, Almudena, Ángel L. Martín-Román & Alfonso Moral (2023): Father Parental Leave Use in Spain: The Role of the Female Partner Labour Situation. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 37, H. 1, S. 293-305. DOI:10.1177/09500170211062808

Abstract

"This article presents novel empirical evidence of fathers’ parental leave usage by introducing a family dimension in Spain. To test this hypothesis, a bivariate probit estimation was used to analyse the effect of the mother’s labour force participation on the father’s decision to take parental leave. This procedure allowed us to address the issue of simultaneous factors affecting the decisions of both the man and the woman, which were relevant to interpreting for the phenomenon. The results suggested that successfully using fathers’ paternity leave as a tool to promote gender equality depends on the family household’s characteristics and the woman’s connection to the job market. The bivariate probit estimation revealed that the effect of the woman’s decision on the man’s choice is much stronger than a naive regression would suggest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pollmann-Schult, Matthias (2023): Familie, Erwerbsarbeit, Einkommen. In: O. A. Becker, K. Hank & A. Steinbach (Hrsg.) (2023): Handbuch Familiensoziologie, Wiesbaden, Springer VS S. 675-692. DOI:10.1007/978-3-658-35219-6_27

Abstract

"Die familiale Situation hat erhebliche Auswirkungen auf das Erwerbsverhalten von Frauen und kann ebenfalls die Berufstätigkeit von Männern beeinflussen. Der Übergang zur Mutterschaft wirkt sich negativ auf die Erwerbsbeteiligung, den Erwerbsumfang und die Einkommenshöhe von Frauen aus. Bei Männern sind hingegen sowohl positive als auch negative Effekte auf die Arbeitszeit zu beobachten. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt verschiedene Theorieansätze zum Einfluss familialer Übergänge auf das Erwerbsverhalten und skizziert den empirischen Forschungsstand. Dabei wird auch diskutiert, inwiefern Effekte der Elternschaft durch individuelle Merkmale, familienpolitische Rahmenbedingungen und den kulturellen Kontext geprägt werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Springer)

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Zamberlan, Anna & Paolo Barbieri (2023): A 'potential motherhood' penalty? A longitudinal analysis of the wage gap based on potential fertility in Germany and the United Kingdom. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 39, H. 6, S. 920-934. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcad003

Abstract

"While labour market penalties related to motherhood are a widely studied topic, less is known about the implications of signalled potential fertility. We thus posed the question of whether potential fertility—operationalized as the likelihood that a childless woman will transition to motherhood depending on observed sociodemographic characteristics—is associated with a wage penalty and—if so—what the drivers of this wage gap are. We further tested theory-driven hypotheses about heterogeneity across institutional contexts (i.e. in Germany and the United Kingdom) and socio-economic classes. In so doing, we relied on SOEP, BHPS, and UKHLS panel data to construct a synthetic measure of potential fertility over the period from 1991 to 2017. We first explored the overall association between potential fertility and wages and found a wage gap to the disadvantage of potential mothers in both contexts, albeit with non-negligible heterogeneity across time and socio-economic classes. Subsequently, we selected the top and bottom quartiles of the distribution of potential fertility and performed a 2-fold decomposition of the wage differential between potential mothers and women who are less likely to transition to motherhood. The observed wage gap can mostly be explained by compositional differences in observed characteristics between the two groups of women, thereby leaving little room for explanations based on employer discrimination." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ahrens, Regina (2022): Familien- und Vereinbarkeitspolitik in Deutschland. Eine Einführung. (Elemente der Politik), Wiesbaden: Imprint: Springer VS, XIX, 199 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-658-37149-4

Abstract

"Dieses Lehrbuch gibt einen fundierten Einblick in das Politikfeld Familienpolitik. Es zeichnet die historischen Entwicklungen in Deutschland nach und zeigt politikfeldanalytische Erklärungen auf. Das Lehrbuch ermöglicht damit auch ein Verständnis der aktuellen familienpolitischen Diskurse. Es richtet sich vornehmlich an Studierende im Bachelor und Master, aber auch an Praktikerinnen und Praktiker, die sich aufgrund von neuen beruflichen Aufgaben in die Grundzüge der Familienpolitik in Deutschland einlesen möchten. Das Buch enthält ergänzendes Online-Material. Die Autorin Dr. Regina Ahrens ist Politikwissenschaftlerin und vertritt an der Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt die Professur „Betriebswirtschaftslehre mit Schwerpunkt Personal und Marketing“. Daneben ist sie Lehrbeauftragte am Institut für Politikwissenschaft der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster und berät Unternehmen und Privatpersonen zum Thema Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie." (Verlagsangaben)

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Belloc, Ignacio, José Alberto Molina & Jorge Velilla (2022): How does intrahousehold bargaining power impact labor supply? European cross-country evidence (2004-2019). (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 1132), Essen, 35 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes how intrahousehold bargaining power impacts labor supply, for seventeen European countries. To that end, we estimate a collective model using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for the period 2004-2019, and we study the validity of several potential distribution factors; that is to say, variables that impact labor supply only through intrahousehold bargaining power. Results show some degree of heterogeneity in the responses of labor supply to intrahousehold bargaining power. Spouses' education and the age gap operate as distribution factors in central European countries, such as Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. On the other hand, in the Mediterranean South countries, the share of unearned income of the wife operates as a distribution factor in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and in countries of Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania), the sex ratio, wives' non-labor income share, spouses' age and education gap, and the fertility rate all operate as distribution factors. In northern economies, such as Denmark and Estonia, we find evidence for share of unearned income, age gap, and fertility rate, while in islands, such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, the sex ratio, the share of unearned income, the age and education gap, and the fertility rate are suitable bargaining power variables. The results are consistent with theoretical sharing rules, and distribution factors that empower a given spouse are mainly positively correlated with increases in the share of income they attract from intrahousehold bargaining." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brehmer, Wolfram, Christina Klenner & Tanja Schmidt (2022): Was macht Frauen in Deutschland zu Familienernährerinnen. (WSI-Report 70), Düsseldorf, 28 S.

Abstract

"Das Spektrum der Arrangements, in denen sich Paare Erwerbs- und Fürsorgearbeit teilen, wandelt sich. Jeder zehnte (Erwerbs-)Paarhaushalt in Deutschland hat eine weibliche Haupteinkommensbezieherin. Dabei liegt der Anteil in Westdeutschland deutlich niedriger als in Ostdeutschland. Dieser Report geht mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels der Frage nach, was dazu führt, dass Frauen den größten Teil des Haushaltseinkommens erwirtschaften und somit Familienernährerinnen werden. Werden Frauen zu Familienernährerinnen, weil Paare auf der Basis ihrer Einstellungen und nicht-traditionellen Geschlechterrollenorientierungen ein solches Arrangement wählen? Oder führen andere Umstände zu Familienernährerinnen-Konstellationen? Unsere Analysen zeigen: Viel spricht dafür, dass die Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise 2008/09 die Tendenz zu Familienernährerinnen-Haushalten verstärkt hat. Dort, wo Frauen die Familienernährerinnen sind, steht das häufig mit Arbeitslosigkeit oder atypischer Beschäftigung des Mannes im Zusammenhang und von 2007 an wurde die Wahrscheinlichkeit für Familienernährerinnen-Haushalte von Jahr zu Jahr signifikant größer. Für den Einfluss der Wirtschaftskrise - wie sich die Coronakrise auswirkt, ist bisher nicht klar - spricht auch, dass Familienernährerinnen-Haushalte überdurchschnittlich häufig arm sind oder armutsnah leben. In vielen Fällen müssen Familienernährerinnen auch mit unterer beruflicher Stellung, in Teilzeit und mit entsprechend niedrigen Einkünften die Familie ernähren. Dass Familienernährerinnen-Konstellationen auf bewusst gewählten Strategien der Paare beruhen, lässt sich anhand der verfügbaren Daten nicht bestätigen. Allerdings haben Frauen, die Familienernährerinnen sind, häufiger egalitäre Einstellungen. Sie haben auch häufiger eine hohe Bildung, eine hohe berufliche Stellung und sind überdurchschnittlich in Vollzeit, in Großbetrieben und im öffentlichen Dienst tätig. Das heißt, dass berufliche Positionen von Frauen mit guten Einkommenschancen also ebenfalls das Überwiegen des weiblichen Einkommensanteils begünstigen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Gerber, Christine (2022): Gender and precarity in platform work: Old inequalities in the new world of work. In: New Technology, Work and Employment, Jg. 37, H. 2, S. 206-230. DOI:10.1111/ntwe.12233

Abstract

"Platform work creates a work model that is both a curse and a blessing for vulnerable labour market segments. Based on research on female precarity, the article expects that remote platform work—so-called crowdwork—could especially attract women who need to combine income and care responsibilities. This article investigates whether women experience more precarity on crowdwork platforms than men, and why their risks differ. It analyses data from a quantitative survey with crowdworkers in Germany and the United States. The results indicate higher precarity risks for women due to care work, which are also indirectly mediated via the employment status. The higher commodification of labour and weaker social infrastructure lead to generally greater precarity risks for platform workers in the United States. The high differences between women and men in Germany underline the gendered nature of labour market dualization and precarization as well as the traditional division of housework. Policy measures should address both platform work and these structural inequalities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Keldenich, Carina & Andreas Knabe (2022): Women's labor market responses to their partners' unemployment and low-pay employment. In: Journal of labor research, Jg. 43, H. 1, S. 134-162. DOI:10.1007/s12122-022-09327-0

Abstract

"Using bivariate random-effects probit estimation on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel we show that women respond to their partners' unemployment with an increase in labor market participation, which also leads to an increase in their employment probability. Our analysis considers within and between effects separately, revealing differences in the relationships between women's labor market statuses and their partners' unemployment in the previous period (within effect) and their partners' overall probability of being unemployed (between effect). Furthermore, we contribute to the literature by demonstrating that a partner's employment in a low-paid job has an effect on women's labor market choices and outcomes similar to that of his unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Morgenroth, Nicolas, Brigitte Schels & Nils Teichler (2022): Are men or women more unsettled by fixed-term contracts? Gender differences in affective job insecurity and the role of household context and labour market position. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 38, H. 4, S. 560-574., 2021-11-15. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcab060

Abstract

"This study investigates differences in the causal effect of fixed-term contracts on affective job insecurity by gender and household context in Germany. Research shows that workers in fixed-term employment are more unsettled about their job security than are permanent employees. We contribute to the literature on subjective job insecurity by explicitly modelling the causal effect of fixed-term employment and by examining how women and men differ in this effect. We argue that gender differences in the labour market positions and a gendered division of labour in the household account for gender differences in the subjective vulnerability to fixed-term employment. We apply linear fixed effect probability models based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with a sample of employees aged between 20 and 45 years. Results show that a fixed-term contract doubles the probability of big job worries compared to a permanent contract. Women are substantially more unsettled by fixed-term contracts than men across all household types. These gender differences cannot be explained by unfavourable labour market positions of women. Fixed-term employment thus seems to add to existing gender inequalities on the labour market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Waights, Sevrin (2022): Parental Leave Benefits and Child Penalties. (DIW-Diskussionspapiere 2016), Berlin, 45 S.

Abstract

"I use the universe of tax returns in Germany and a regression kink design to estimate the impact of the benefit amount available to high-earning women after their first childbirth on subsequent within-couple earnings inequality. Lower benefit amounts result in a reduced earnings gap that persists beyond the benefit period for at least nine years after the birth. The longer-term impacts are driven by couples where the mother earned more than the father pre-birth. Simulations suggest it would take a 50% reduction in the benefit amount to completely eliminate long-run child penalties for sample couples. Lower benefits also reduce take-up of paid leave by mothers, lower the chances of having further children, and have no impact on marital stability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aaronson, Daniel, Rajeev Dehejia, Andrew Jordan, Cristian Pop-Eleches, Cyrus Samii & Karl Schulze (2021): The effect of fertility on mothers' labor supply over the last two centuries. In: The Economic Journal, Jg. 131, H. 633, S. 1-32. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaa100

Abstract

"Using a compiled data set of 441 censuses and surveys from between 1787 and 2015, representing 103 countries and 51.4 million mothers, we find that: (i) the effect of fertility on labour supply is typically indistinguishable from zero at low levels of development and large and negative at higher levels of development, (ii) the negative gradient is stable across historical and contemporary data, and (iii) the results are robust to identification strategies, model specification, and data construction and scaling. Our results are consistent with changes in the sectoral and occupational structure of female jobs and a standard labour–leisure model." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Almås, Ingvild, Charlotte Ringdal & Ingrid Hoem Sjursen (2021): Understanding inequality within households. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 961), Essen, 31 S.

Abstract

"To describe and understand the economic inequality in a given society, it is necessary to understand intra-household inequality. House- holds can hide important inequalities, but can also be essential units for redistribution in society. This paper gives an overview of within- household distributions in different settings, both between the adults and also between adults and children. It documents that there are substantial inequalities within households in some contexts and that these often, but not always, disfavor women and children. The paper also discusses the importance of intra-household allocations for poverty and inequality measurement. Methods that assign each household member a per-adult share of household consumption leads to underestimation of inequalities and miss-classification of poverty. In comparison, structural models seem to do better in predicting individual poverty when disaggregated data on allocation within households are not available. Main determinants of power in household decision-making are also discussed, and relatedly, so are two important policy questions: Are targeted transfers to women good for female empowerment? And, are targeted transfers to mothers good for child outcomes? The empirical evidence is clearly pointing to targeting being beneficial for female empowerment, but the evidence is less clear when it comes to child outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Balleer, Almut, Monika Merz & Tamás K. Papp (2021): Couples' Time-Use and Aggregate Labor Market Outcomes. (IZA discussion paper 14468), Bonn, 61 S.

Abstract

"We present a model of the time-allocation decision of spouses in order to study the role of heterogeneity in preferences and wages for couples' labor supply. Spouses differ in their tastes for market consumption and non-market goods and activities, and also in their offered or earned wages. They interact in their choices of market hours, homework, and leisure. We estimate the model for married or cohabiting couples in the 2001/02 wave of the German Time-Use Survey using Bayesian techniques. We generate gender-specific own- and cross-wage elasticities of market hours in the cross-section. Elasticities are significantly larger if the wage shock is asymmetric across partners, not symmetric. Aggregating preferences and wages by gender and comparing outcomes for a representative couple with those from heterogenous couples yields a discrepancy between alternative aggregate wage-elasticities. Its size varies with the type of wage shock and the distribution of spouses across the preference-wage space." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bartels, Charlotte & Cortnie Shupe (2021): Drivers of Participation Elasticities across Europe: Gender or Earner Role within the Household? (DIW-Diskussionspapiere 1969), Berlin, 61 S.

Abstract

"We compute participation tax rates across the EU and find that work disincentives inherent in tax-benefit systems largely depend on household composition and the individual’s earner role within the household. We then estimate participation elasticities using an IV group estimator that enables us to investigate the responsiveness of individuals to work incentives. We contribute to the literature on heterogeneous elasticities by providing estimates for breadwinners and secondary earners separately, according to their potential earnings rather than gender. Our results show an average participation elasticity of 0.0-0.1 among breadwinners and 0.1-0.4 among secondary earners in the EU as well as a high degree of heterogeneity across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Behera, Sarthak & Divya Sadana (2021): Differing Labor Supply: A Study on the Role of Culture. (MPRA paper / University Library of Munich 110753), München, 41 S.

Abstract

"In this paper, we study the role of peoples' attitudes on their labor market behavior. Focusing within a household, we estimate how one's labor market decisions are dependent on their partner's labor market outcomes, and how these decisions are driven by their culture component. Historically, man has been associated as the primary earner in a family. We argue that culture might play a role in determining a person's labor market outcomes as it induces an aversion to the situation of when the wife earns more than the husband. We find that husbands increase their participation in the labor market if their wives earn more and this effect is even more prominent if they are from a country where people have the traditional view that man should be the primary bread-winner for the family. However, wives do not exhibit any such behavior. We argue that this irregularity is explained by the role that culture plays on forming labor market decisions. This result is important as it might contribute to the explanation of the slowdown in the convergence of the gender gap in the recent past." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bloemen, Hans (2021): Labor Market Transitions of Members of Opposite-Sex Couples: Nonparticipation, Unemployed Search, and Employment. (IZA discussion paper 14673), Bonn, 74 S.

Abstract

"An empirical analysis of labor market transitions for spouses in couples is implemented. Object of study are transitions between the states of nonparticipation, unemployed search, and employment. Motivated by a model of household search, the emphasis is on spousal variables and interactions. Additionally, a proxy for the business cycle is included in the analysis, and household specific unobserved heterogeneity is accounted for. Results show that female transitions into nonparticipation (both out of unemployed search and employment) are positively affected by the husband's income (while no effect is found for transitions out of nonparticipation). Men seem to move from employment into unemployed search easier the higher is the wife's income. Since the wife having an income is in turn strongly accociated with female participation, this suggests that households with a participating wife are better able to deal with unemployment of the husband. A supplementary analysis with reservation wages and numbers of applications points in the same direction. Husbands' reservation wages are only sensitive to his own unemployment income if the wife is nonparticipating. This implies that unemployment benefits have a different role in households with the husband as a sole earner compared to dual earner households." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Clark, Andrew E., Conchita D'Ambrosio & Anthony Lepinteur (2021): Marriage as insurance: job protection and job insecurity in France. (CEP discussion paper 1778), London, 41 S.

Abstract

"Job insecurity is one of the risks that workers face on the labour market. As with any risk, individuals can choose to insure against it. We here consider marriage as a way of insuring against labour-market risk. The 1999 rise in the French Delalande tax, paid by large private firms when they laid off workers aged 50 or over, led to an exogenous rise in job insecurity for the uncovered (younger workers) in the affected firms. A difference-in-differences analysis using French panel data reveals that this greater job insecurity for the under-50s led to a significant rise in their probability of marriage, and especially when the partner had greater job security, consistent with marriage providing insurance against labour-market risk." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Jennifer Louise Roff (2021): The Effect of Alimony Reform on Married Women's Labor Supply: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey. (IZA discussion paper 14949), Bonn, 41 S.

Abstract

"Reforms that reduce alimony can affect married couples in two different ways. First, reduced alimony lowers the bargaining power of the payee, usually the wife. Second, reduced alimony lowers the incentives of wives to engage in the traditional male breadwinner model of household specialization. Using the American Time Use Survey and exploiting a series of recent reforms in several US states that reduced the entitlements of eligible spouses, we find that wives surprised by the reforms reacted by moving away from the traditional male breadwinner model of household specialization. We also find that highly educated women substituted work for time devoted to housework and childcare, while less educated wives substituted work for leisure and personal time. We find no effects for men. The fact that the reforms reduced fertility only among women with higher education suggests that the difference between them and less educated wives in the response to reduced alimony is due, at least in part, to differences in their preferences and costs for children. The estimated effects are larger among couples with a large difference in the earnings potential of spouses and are robust to several sensitivity tests." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grunow, Daniela & Torsten Lietzmann (2021): Women's employment transitions: The influence of her, his, and joint gender ideologies. In: Demographic Research, Jg. 45, S. 55-86., 2021-05-19. DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2021.45.3

Abstract

"Research suggests that women’s employment decisions are influenced by not only their own gender ideologies but also their partners’. This paper is the first study examining the role of a couple’s joint gender ideology on the female partner’s employment transitions, specifically her work hours and employment breaks. The authors seek to advance research on the effects of gender ideologies on paid work transitions conceptually, arguing that a couple’s (dis)agreement on gender ideologies may be important. The authors use data from the German panel study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) and logistic regression models estimating the probability of reducing work hours or taking an employment break between two successive panel waves. Women’s gender ideologies impact their likelihood of reducing work hours and taking an employment break. The more egalitarian women are, the less likely they are to reduce their labor market participation. The male partner’s gender ideology initially appears irrelevant. However, when considering the couple as a unit, the authors find a couple effect of joint ideology: Women are more likely to reduce their work hours when both partners believe in gender essentialism as opposed to other couple-ideology constellations. For women’s employment breaks, findings also point to a couple-ideology effect, though with less statistical certainty. The couple perspective shows that his gender ideology matters only in relation to hers. Introducing the couple perspective reveals that individual ideology measures provide a skewed picture of how gender ideologies actually work in couples to influence the gender division of paid work." (Author's abstract, © 1999–2021 Max Planck Society) ((en))

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Haupt, Andreas, Susanne Strauss & Anna-Theresa Saile (2021): Long-term Trends in the Gender Income Gap within Couples. West Germany, 1978–2011. (SocArXiv papers), 38 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/jm4ug

Abstract

"Over the past 50 years, women in Western societies have increased their level of education and their participation in the labour market. Nevertheless, they continue to contribute significantly less to a couple’s income than their male partners. Here, we ask how the gender income gap within couples has changed over the past decades and in which groups it has decreased or increased. We synthesize streams of argumentation regarding the sources of changes in the gap into one broad perspective on the changing opportunities available to coupled women to convert their income potential into actual income contributions, and how this relates to the income trends of their male counterparts. Using German Microcensus data, we show that West German women contributed 16.5% to couples’ income in 1978 and had increased their contribution to 30.1% by 2011. Our decompositions reveal that women contributed to this mostly by changes in composition, namely due to being more highly educated and working longer hours. Women contributed very little due to increased income returns. Income trends of non-working women are a notable exception. In contrast, men contributed to the trend with changes in income returns. Their higher education and full-time premiums have been a strong counter to the overall trend." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Landaud, Fanny (2021): From employment to engagement? Stable jobs, temporary jobs, and cohabiting relationships. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 73. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102077

Abstract

"Family formation has been substantially delayed in recent decades, and birth rates have fallen below the replacement rates in many OECD countries. Research suggests that these trends are tightly linked to recent changes in the labor market; however, little is known about the role played by increases in job insecurity. In this paper, I investigate whether the type of employment, stable or temporary, affects the timing of cohabitation and fertility. Using French data on the work and family history of large samples of young adults, I provide evidence that being permanently employed has a much stronger effect than being in temporary employment on the probability of entering a first cohabiting relationship as well as on the probability of having a first child. These findings suggest that increases in age at first cohabitation and at first child can partly be explained by the rise in unemployment and in the share of temporary jobs among young workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

Abstract

Der Expertisenband versammelt die Expertisen für den neunten Familienbericht "Eltern sein in Deutschland - Ansprüche, Anforderungen und Angebote bei wachsender Vielfalt". Wie auch bei vorangegangenen Berichten war der Entstehungsprozess des Berichts nicht nur von intensiven kommissionsinternen Diskussionen geprägt, es wurde auch auf Fachkenntnisse externer Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler zurückgegriffen. Die Kommission hat beschlossen, die Expertisen als Online-Publikation einer breiten Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. (IAB-Doku)

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Schmidt, Jörg & Oliver Stettes (2021): Wer macht was? Zum Einfluss von Entgeltunterschieden auf die Aufgabenteilung in Paarhaushalten. In: IW-Trends, Jg. 48, H. 1, S. 61-77. DOI:10.2373/1864-810X.21-01-04

Abstract

"Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht den Einfluss von Entgeltdifferenzen in Paarhaushalten auf das zeitliche Engagement der Partner im Beruf und im Haushalt. Bei einer geschlechterbezogenen Aufgabenteilung wird untersucht, inwieweit Frauen und Männer sich im Vergleich zu ihren Partnern zeitlich im Haushalt und Beruf engagieren. Der durchschnittliche Rückstand des Bruttostundenlohns der Frau zu dem ihres Partners liegt bei 16,3 Prozent, wenn die Aufgabenteilung eher traditionell erfolgt. Ihr Lohnvorsprung beträgt durchschnittlich 6,6 Prozent, wenn eine eher antitraditionelle Aufgabenteilung vorliegt. Eine positive Altersdifferenz zwischen dem Mann und der Frau sowie die Existenz von Kindern begünstigen ein eher traditionelles Spezialisierungsmuster. Im Rahmen einer ökonomisch motivierten Aufgabenteilung wird analysiert, inwieweit das Haushaltsmitglied mit dem höheren Bruttostundenlohn mehr Zeit im Beruf und/oder weniger Zeit im Haushalt einsetzt als das andere. Wo ein ökonomisches Kalkül dem Spezialisierungsmuster zugrunde liegt, beträgt der Verdienstrückstand der Frau gegenüber ihrem Partner durchschnittlich 25,8 Prozent. Ökonometrische Schätzungen zeigen, dass vorhandene Lohnunterschiede zwischen beiden Partnern eine ökonomisch motivierte Spezialisierung begünstigen. Da Frauen im Durchschnitt geringere Bruttostundenlöhne aufweisen als ihre Partner, geht eine ökonomisch geprägte Aufgabenteilung zugleich häufig mit einer geschlechtsbezogenen Aufgabenteilung einher. Wirtschaftliche Überlegungen eines Paares können daher ein eher traditionelles Arbeitsteilungsarrangement verfestigen, das bereits vor der Geburt des ersten Kindes getroffen wurde." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Wikle, Jocelyn & Riley Wilson (2021): Access to Head Start and Maternal Labor Supply: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evidence. (IZA discussion paper 14880), Bonn, 89 S.

Abstract

"We explore how access to Head Start impacts maternal labor supply. By relaxing child care constraints, public preschool options like Head Start might lead mothers to reallocate time between employment, child care, and other activities. Using the 1990s enrollment and funding expansions and the 2002 Head Start Impact Study randomized control trial, we show that Head Start increases short-run employment and wage earnings of single mothers. The increase in labor supply does not appear to reduce quality parent-child interactions. Viewing Head Start as a bundle of family-level treatments can shed new light on the impacts of the program beyond children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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d'Albis, Hippolyte, Karina Doorley & Elena Stancanelli (2021): Older mothers' employment and marriage stability when the nest is empty. (PSE working paper / Paris School of Economics 2021-24), Paris, 29 S.

Abstract

"A significant literature in the social sciences addresses the impact of child-bearing and rearing on marital stability and on mothers' labour market outcomes. Much less is known about older mothers' employment and marriage patterns when the adult children leave the parental nest. This study aims to shed light on these issues using longitudinal labour force data for France. Exploiting retirement laws for identification purposes, and taking a regression discontinuity approach, we find that older women's retirement probability is positively associated with an empty nest. We also conclude that an empty nest is negatively associated with older mothers' marriage probability. There is scope for better targeting of both family and retirement policies for older mothers during those critical years when adult children leave the parental nest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))