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Child-Custody Reform and the Division of Labor in the Household

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  • John M. Nunley
  • Richard Alan Seals Jr.

Abstract

We investigate whether a change in the expectation of child custody affects the amount of time that married mothers and fathers devote to market and household work. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) coupled with plausibly exogenous variation in the adoption of joint-custody laws across states and time allow us to examine how the prospect of shared child custody affects within-marriage time allocation. We exploit the longitudinal feature of the PSID to adjust our estimates for sample selection based on the reform’s potential impact on the composition of the married couples. We find that custody reform induces a reallocation of time within marriage, with mothers working more in the market and fathers working more in the home.

Suggested Citation

  • John M. Nunley & Richard Alan Seals Jr., 2011. "Child-Custody Reform and the Division of Labor in the Household," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2011-14, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    • Handle: RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2011-14
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    File URL: https://cla.auburn.edu/econwp/Archives/2011/2011-14.pdf
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jennifer Roff, 2017. "Cleaning in the Shadow of the Law? Bargaining, Marital Investment, and the Impact of Divorce Law on Husbands' Intrahousehold Work," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(1), pages 115-134.
    3. Guido de Blasio & Daniela Vuri, 2019. "Effects of the Joint Custody Law in Italy," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 479-514, September.
    4. Leslie S. Stratton, 2023. "Marriage Versus Cohabitation: How Specialization and Time Use Differ by Relationship Type," Research in Labor Economics, in: Time Use in Economics, volume 51, pages 187-218, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Bansak, Cynthia & Grossbard, Shoshana & Wong, Crystal (Ho Po), 2021. "Mothers' Caregiving during COVID: The Impact of Divorce Laws and Homeownership on Women's Labor Force Status," IZA Discussion Papers 14408, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Carole Bonnet & Bertrand Garbinti & Anne Solaz, 2022. "Does Part-Time Mothering Help Get a Job? The Role of Shared Custody in Women’s Employment," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 885-913, December.
    7. Bansak, Cynthia & Grossbard, Shoshana & Wong, Ho-Po Crystal, 2022. "Mothers’ caregiving during COVID: The impact of marital property laws on women’s labor force status," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    8. Laura Hospido & Sara Izquierdo & Margarita Machelett, 2021. "The gender gap in financial competences (556 KB)," Economic Bulletin, Banco de España, issue 1/2021.
    9. Fernandez-Kranz, Daniel & Nollenberger, Natalia, 2022. "The impact of equal parenting time laws on family outcomes and risky behavior by teenagers: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 303-325.
    10. Maiti, Abhradeep, 2015. "Effect of joint custody laws on children's future labor market outcomes," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 22-31.
    11. Katie R. Genadek, 2018. "Unilateral Divorce and Time Allocation in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 63-87, January.
    12. Belloc, Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2022. "How does intrahousehold bargaining power impact labor supply? European cross-country evidence (2004-2019)," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1132, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Grossbard, Shoshana, 2023. "Spouses as Home Health Workers and Cooks: Insights for Applied Research," IZA Discussion Papers 16182, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    market work; household work; child custody; household bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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