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School Schedule and the Gender Pay Gap

Author

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  • Duchini, Emma

    (University of Essex)

  • Van Effenterre, Clémentine

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

We provide causal evidence that children's school schedules contribute to the persistence of the gender pay gap between parents. Historically, French children have had no school on Wednesdays. In 2013, a reform reallocated some classes to Wednesday mornings. Exploiting variations in the application of this reform over time and across the age of the youngest child, we show that mothers are more likely to adopt a regular Monday-Friday full-time working schedule after the reform, while fathers' labor supply is unchanged. Consequently, the reform decreased the monthly gender pay gap by 6 percent, generating fiscal revenues that substantially outweigh its costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Duchini, Emma & Van Effenterre, Clémentine, 2020. "School Schedule and the Gender Pay Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 13791, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13791
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucifora, Claudio & Meurs, Dominique & Villar, Elena, 2021. "The “mommy track” in the workplace. Evidence from a large French firm," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Pierre‐Loup Beauregard & Marie Connolly & Catherine Haeck & Tímea Laura Molnár, 2022. "Primary school reopenings and parental work," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 248-281, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    female labor supply; gender inequality; school schedule; child penalty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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