IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v165y2023i2d10.1007_s11205-022-03026-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring Gender Gaps in Time Allocation in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Carlos Campaña

    (Department of Applied Economics and Public Management, UNED
    Global Labor Organization
    Nebrija University)

  • Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal

    (University of Zaragoza
    Global Labor Organization)

  • Jorge Velilla

    (University of Zaragoza
    Global Labor Organization)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Carlos Campaña & Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Jorge Velilla, 2023. "Measuring Gender Gaps in Time Allocation in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 519-553, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:165:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-022-03026-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-022-03026-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-022-03026-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-022-03026-0?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. Lori Beaman & Raghabendra Chattopadhyay & Esther Duflo & Rohini Pande & Petia Topalova, 2009. "Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1497-1540.
    2. Alexander Bick & Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, 2017. "Quantifying the Disincentive Effects of Joint Taxation on Married Women's Labor Supply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 100-104, May.
    3. Jose Gimenez-Nadal & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2011. "The Time-Crunch Paradox," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 181-196, June.
    4. Tiago Cavalcanti & José Tavares, 2016. "The Output Cost of Gender Discrimination: A Model‐based Macroeconomics Estimate," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 109-134, February.
    5. Kelly S. Ragan, 2013. "Taxes and Time Use: Fiscal Policy in a Household Production Model," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 168-192, January.
    6. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Elena Stancanelli, 2015. "Long Workweeks and Strange Hours," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(5), pages 1007-1018, October.
    7. Patricia Apps & Ray Rees, 2005. "Gender, Time Use, and Public Policy over the Life Cycle," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 439-461, Autumn.
    8. M. Browning & P. A. Chiappori, 1998. "Efficient Intra-Household Allocations: A General Characterization and Empirical Tests," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(6), pages 1241-1278, November.
    9. Michael Burda & Daniel Hamermesh & Philippe Weil, 2013. "Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(1), pages 239-261, January.
    10. 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.
    11. Tiago V. de V. Cavalcanti & José Tavares, 2008. "Assessing the "Engines of Liberation": Home Appliances and Female Labor Force Participation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(1), pages 81-88, February.
    12. Bargain, Olivier & González, Libertad & Keane, Claire & Özcan, Berkay, 2012. "Female labor supply and divorce: New evidence from Ireland," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1675-1691.
    13. Gimenez-Nadal, Jose Ignacio & Sevilla, Almudena, 2012. "Trends in time allocation: A cross-country analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(6), pages 1338-1359.
    14. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    15. Manser, Marilyn & Brown, Murray, 1980. "Marriage and Household Decision-Making: A Bargaining Analysis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 21(1), pages 31-44, February.
    16. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1993. "Separate Spheres Bargaining and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 988-1010, December.
    17. Stancanelli, Elena, 2017. "Couples’ retirement under individual pension design: A regression discontinuity study for France," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 14-26.
    18. Susan Himmelweit, & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, & Christina Santos, & Catherine Sofer, 2013. "Sharing of Resources within the Family and the Economics of Household Decision-making," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01122285, HAL.
    19. Jonathan Gershuny, 2012. "Too Many Zeros: A Method for Estimating Long-Term Time-Use from Short Diaries," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 105-106, pages 247-270.
    20. Gershuny, Jonathan, 2000. "Changing Times: Work and Leisure in Postindustrial Society," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287872.
    21. Francesca Bettio & Janneke Plantenga, 2004. "Comparing Care Regimes In Europe," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 85-113.
    22. Anne H. Gauthier & Timothy M. Smeeding & Frank F. Furstenberg, 2004. "Are Parents Investing Less Time in Children? Trends in Selected Industrialized Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(4), pages 647-672, December.
    23. Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2010. "Household division of labor and cross-country differences in household formation rates," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 225-249, January.
    24. Almudena Sevilla-Sanz & Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Cristina Fernandez, 2010. "Gender Roles and the Division of Unpaid Work in Spanish Households," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 137-184.
    25. Charlene M. Kalenkoski & Gigi Foster (ed.), 2016. "The Economics of Multitasking," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-38144-6.
    26. J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina, 2016. "Commuting Time And Household Responsibilities: Evidence Using Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 332-359, March.
    27. repec:adr:anecst:y:2012:i:105-106:p:12 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Elena Stancanelli, 2017. "Couples’ Retirement under Individual Pension Design: a Regression Discontinuity Study for France," Post-Print hal-01630922, HAL.
    29. Mark Aguiar & Erik Hurst, 2007. "Measuring Trends in Leisure: The Allocation of Time Over Five Decades," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 969-1006.
    30. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1988. "Rational Household Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(1), pages 63-90, January.
    31. Kimberly Fisher & John Robinson, 2011. "Daily Life in 23 Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(2), pages 295-304, April.
    32. Nancy Folbre & Jayoung Yoon, 2007. "What is child care? Lessons from time-use surveys of major English-speaking countries," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 223-248, September.
    33. Esping-Andersen, Gosta, 1999. "Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198742005.
    34. Chen, Zhiqi & Woolley, Frances, 2001. "A Cournot-Nash Model of Family Decision Making," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(474), pages 722-748, October.
    35. Hersch, Joni & Stratton, Leslie S, 1994. "Housework, Wages, and the Division of Housework Time for Employed Spouses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 120-125, May.
    36. Charlene M. Kalenkoski & Gigi Foster, 2015. "Measuring the relative productivity of multitasking to sole-tasking in household production: experimental evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(18), pages 1847-1862, April.
    37. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1992. "Collective Labor Supply and Welfare," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 437-467, June.
    38. Mark Aguiar & Erik Hurst, 2005. "Consumption versus Expenditure," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 919-948, October.
    39. Mark Aguiar & Erik Hurst & Loukas Karabarbounis, 2013. "Time Use during the Great Recession," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1664-1696, August.
    40. Grossbard, Shoshana Amyra & Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2014. "Racial Intermarriage and Household Production," Review of Behavioral Economics, now publishers, vol. 1(4), pages 295-347, December.
    41. Juan Carlos Campaña & Jose Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina, 2018. "Gender Norms and the Gendered Distribution of Total Work in Latin American Households," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 35-62, January.
    42. J. Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Molina & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2012. "Social norms, partnerships and children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 215-236, June.
    43. Christina Boll & Julian Leppin & Nora Reich, 2014. "Paternal childcare and parental leave policies: evidence from industrialized countries," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 129-158, March.
    44. Elena Stancanelli, 2017. "Couples’ Retirement under Individual Pension Design: a Regression Discontinuity Study for France," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-01630922, HAL.
    45. Joni Hersch & Leslie S. Stratton, 1997. "Housework, Fixed Effects, and Wages of Married Workers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(2), pages 285-307.
    46. repec:hal:pseose:hal-01299931 is not listed on IDEAS
    47. Alexander M. Gelber & Joshua W. Mitchell, 2012. "Taxes and Time Allocation: Evidence from Single Women and Men," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(3), pages 863-897.
    48. Ariel Kalil & Rebecca Ryan & Michael Corey, 2012. "Diverging Destinies: Maternal Education and the Developmental Gradient in Time With Children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(4), pages 1361-1383, November.
    49. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 1996. "Bargaining and Distribution in Marriage," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 139-158, Fall.
    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. Kobus, Martyna & Kapera, Marek & Maasoumi, Esfandiar, 2024. "Gap in many dimensions: Application to gender," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Giulia Bettin & Isabella Giorgetti & Stefano Staffolani, 2024. "The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the gender gap in the Italian labour market," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-33, March.
    3. Gupta, Shivani, 2024. "The Impact of Maternal Labor Supply on Subjective Well-Being: Correcting Endogeneity with a Bunching Design," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343718, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Juan Carlos Campaña & J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal, 2024. "Gender Gaps in Commuting Time: Evidence from Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 596-620, September.
    5. Koopmans, Pim & van Lent, Max & Been, Jim, 2024. "Child Penalties and the Gender Gap in Home Production and the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 16871, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2023. "Pro-environment Attitudes and Worker Commuting Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 16279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Gimenez-Nadal, Jose Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2021. "How do women allocate their available time in Europe? Differences with men," GLO Discussion Paper Series 908, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2020. "The Gender Gap in Time Allocation in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 13461, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. J. Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Molina, 2013. "Parents’ education as a determinant of educational childcare time," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 719-749, April.
    4. J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina & Yu Zhu, 2018. "Intergenerational mobility of housework time in the United Kingdom," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 911-937, December.
    5. Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, Jose Alberto, 2015. "Health status and the allocation of time: Cross-country evidence from Europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 188-203.
    6. J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Alberto Molina & Raquel Ortega, 2017. "Like my parents at home? Gender differences in children’s housework in Germany and Spain," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1143-1179, June.
    7. Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, Jose Alberto & Ortega, Raquel, 2015. "As my parents at home? Gender differences in childrens’ housework between Germany and Spain," MPRA Paper 62699, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Jara-Díaz, Sergio & Rosales-Salas, Jorge, 2017. "Beyond transport time: A review of time use modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 209-230.
    9. Juan Carlos Campaña & J. Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina, 2020. "Self-employed and Employed Mothers in Latin American Families: Are There Differences in Paid Work, Unpaid Work, and Child Care?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 52-69, March.
    10. Juan Carlos, Campaña & J. Ignacio, Giménez-Nadal & Jose Alberto, Molina, 2017. "Differences between self-employed and employed mothers in balancing family and work responsibilities: Evidence from Latin American countries," MPRA Paper 77964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Alberto Molina, 2022. "The gender gap in time allocation," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 497-497, July.
    12. Robert A. Pollak, 2013. "Allocating Household Time: When Does Efficiency Imply Specialization?," NBER Working Papers 19178, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Alberto Alesina & Andrea Ichino & Loukas Karabarbounis, 2011. "Gender-Based Taxation and the Division of Family Chores," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 1-40, May.
    14. Begoña Álvarez & Daniel Miles-Touya, 2019. "Gender imbalance in housework allocation: a question of time?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1257-1287, December.
    15. Chiappori, Pierre-André & Donni, Olivier, 2009. "Non-unitary Models of Household Behavior: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 4603, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Campaña, Juan Carlos & Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2015. "Gender differences in the distribution of total work-time of Latin- American families: the importance of social norms," MPRA Paper 62759, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Gigi Foster & Leslie S. Stratton, 2018. "Do significant labor market events change who does the chores? Paid work, housework, and power in mixed-gender Australian households," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 483-519, April.
    18. Campaña, Juan Carlos & Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2018. "Efficient Labor Supply for Latin Families: Is the Intra-Household Bargaining Power Relevant?," IZA Discussion Papers 11695, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Hwang, Jisoo & Lee, Chulhee & Lee, Esther, 2019. "Gender norms and housework time allocation among dual-earner couples," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 102-116.
    20. J. Gimenez-Nadal & Jose Molina, 2014. "Regional unemployment, gender, and time allocation of the unemployed," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 105-127, March.

    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:spr:soinre:v:165:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-022-03026-0. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.