IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v20y2013icp82-91.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting ‘mothers and sons’ preference formation and the female labor force in Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Bütikofer, Aline

Abstract

This paper analyzes the interrelation between men's gender role attitudes and female labor supply decision. Following Fernández et al. (2004), I argue that the recent increases in the female labor market participation rate are driven by the growing proportion of men who were brought up in a family with a working mother. First, the paper reexamines the results of the cross-section analysis of Fernández et al. (2004) using the Swiss Household Panel 2005 to illustrate that married women whose mothers-in-law were working are themselves significantly more likely to be in the labor force. In a second step, the paper attempts to test one of their model's crucial mechanisms and show that the effect of a wife's labor market integration on her husband's well-being diverges depending on the former labor market status of his mother. Taken together, this evidence can be interpreted as varying preferences for women with high labor market integration due to exposure to certain sexual stereotypes early in life.

Suggested Citation

  • Bütikofer, Aline, 2013. "Revisiting ‘mothers and sons’ preference formation and the female labor force in Switzerland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 82-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:20:y:2013:i:c:p:82-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2012.11.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092753711200111X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2012.11.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2002. "The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women's Career and Marriage Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(4), pages 730-770, August.
    2. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    3. Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1996. "Satisfaction and comparison income," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 359-381, September.
    4. Jeremy Greenwood & Ananth Seshadri & Mehmet Yorukoglu, 2005. "Engines of Liberation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 109-133.
    5. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2006. "Does marriage make people happy, or do happy people get married?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 326-347, April.
    6. Bisin, Alberto & Verdier, Thierry, 2001. "The Economics of Cultural Transmission and the Dynamics of Preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 298-319, April.
    7. McBride, Michael, 2001. "Relative-income effects on subjective well-being in the cross-section," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 251-278, July.
    8. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299.
    9. Daiji Kawaguchi & Junko Miyazaki, 2009. "Working mothers and sons’ preferences regarding female labor supply: direct evidence from stated preferences," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(1), pages 115-130, January.
    10. Ed Diener & Eunkook Suh, 1997. "Measuring Quality Of Life: Economic, Social, And Subjective Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 189-216, January.
    11. Browning, Martin & Francois Bourguignon & Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Valerie Lechene, 1994. "Income and Outcomes: A Structural Model of Intrahousehold Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1067-1096, December.
    12. Goldin, Claudia, 1992. "Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195072709.
    13. Easterlin, Richard A., 1974. "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence," MPRA Paper 111773, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Smith, James P & Ward, Michael P, 1985. "Time-Series Growth in the Female Labor Force," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 59-90, January.
    15. Jens Bonke & Martin Browning, 2009. "The distribution of financial well-being and income within the household," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 31-42, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Victor Gay, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of World War I on Female Labour," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2303-2333.
    2. Raymundo Miguel Campos-Vazquez & Roberto Velez-Grajales, 2014. "Female Labour Supply and Intergenerational Preference Formation: Evidence for Mexico," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 553-569, December.
    3. Mine Durman-Aslan, 2020. "Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey: The Role of the Intergenerational Links," Post-Print halshs-02900982, HAL.
    4. Juerg Schweri & Annina Eymann & Manuel Aepli, 2020. "Horizontal mismatch and vocational education," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(32), pages 3464-3478, June.
    5. Mine Durmaz-Aslan, 2020. "Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey: The Role of the Intergenerational Links," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 20013, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    6. Mine Durman-Aslan, 2020. "Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey: The Role of the Intergenerational Links," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02900982, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aline Bütikofer & Michael Gerfin, 2017. "The economies of scale of living together and how they are shared: estimates based on a collective household model," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 433-453, June.
    2. Stefania Albanesi & Claudia Olivetti, 2006. "Gender roles and technological progress," 2006 Meeting Papers 411, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Claudia Olivetti, 2006. "Changes in Women's Hours of Market Work: The Role of Returns to Experience," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 9(4), pages 557-587, October.
    4. Machado, Matilde & Carro, Jesus & Mora, Ricardo, 2014. "Transmission of preferences and beliefs about female labor market participation: direct evidence on the role of mothers," CEPR Discussion Papers 10218, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Haaland, Venke Furre & Rege, Mari & Telle, Kjetil & Votruba, Mark, 2018. "The intergenerational transfer of the employment gender gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 132-146.
    6. Diriwaechter, Patric & Shvartsman, Elena, 2018. "The anticipation and adaptation effects of intra- and interpersonal wage changes on job satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 116-140.
    7. Victor Gay, 2017. "The Legacy of the Missing Men: The Long-Run Impact of World War I on Female Labor Force Participation," 2017 Papers pga905, Job Market Papers.
    8. Hanno Lustig, "undated". "The Wealth-Consumption Ratio: A Litmus Test for Consumption-based Asset Pricing Models," UCLA Economics Online Papers 420, UCLA Department of Economics.
    9. Machado, Matilde & Carro, Jesus & Mora, Ricardo, 2014. "Transmission of preferences and beliefs about female labor market participation: direct evidence on the role of mothers," CEPR Discussion Papers 10218, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Sophia Schmitz & C. Katharina Spieß, 2021. "The Importance of Mothers-in-Law's Employment for Their Daughter-in-Law's Labour Market Outcomes in West-Germany: Results and Mechanisms," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1932, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Venke Furre Haaland & Mari Rege & Kjetil Telle & Mark Votruba, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transfer of the Gender Gap in Labor Force Participation," CESifo Working Paper Series 4489, CESifo.
    12. Jisoo Hwang, 2016. "Housewife, “gold miss,” and equal: the evolution of educated women’s role in Asia and the U.S," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 529-570, April.
    13. Böhnke, Petra & Kohler, Ulrich, 2008. "Well-being and inequality," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Inequality and Social Integration SP I 2008-201, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    14. Salland, Jan, 2021. "Income Comparison and Happiness within Households," Working Paper 191/2021, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.
    15. Senik, Claudia, 2009. "Direct evidence on income comparisons and their welfare effects," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 408-424, October.
    16. Rania Gihleb & Osnat Lifshitz, 2022. "Dynamic Effects of Educational Assortative Mating on Labor Supply," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 46, pages 302-327, October.
    17. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2008. "The Concept Of Comparison Income: An Historical Perspective," MPRA Paper 8713, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.
    19. Torgler, Benno & Schmidt, Sascha L & Frey, Bruno S., 2006. "The Power of Positional Concerns: A Panel Analysis," Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics, Working Paper Series qt1z14v7zt, Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics.
    20. Stutzer, Alois, 2004. "The role of income aspirations in individual happiness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 89-109, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female labor supply; Well-being; Preferences; Marriage; Family;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:20:y:2013:i:c:p:82-91. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.