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Spousal Labor Supply: Decoupling Gender Norms and Earning Status

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  • Isaac, Elliott

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

Many household labor supply models divide couples by sex and identify separate male and female labor supply parameters. However, institutional factors in the labor market suggest that men are more likely to be primary earners in their household, meaning that intra-household gender gaps in labor supply may reflect both gender norms and earning status. I use a novel identification approach to disentangle the role of gender norms in intra-household labor supply by estimating collective labor supply models for different- and same-sex married couples. Among childless couples, I present point estimates and construct unified bounds showing that gender norms significantly increase the weight placed on women's utility by 1.1–5.1%, leading to lower labor supply. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the effect of gender norms on married, childless couples' labor supply is equivalent to a substantial widening of the gender wage gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaac, Elliott, 2024. "Spousal Labor Supply: Decoupling Gender Norms and Earning Status," IZA Discussion Papers 17354, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17354
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    collective model; labor supply; gender norms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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