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Gender differences in housework and earnings: intrahousehold evidence from Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Verónica Amarante

    (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía)

  • Cecilia Rossel

    (Universidad Católica del Uruguay. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales.)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the intrahousehold allocation of housework and paid work in five Latin American countries. The study of intrahousehold decisions in a region where gender inequality is higher than in the developed world and where a high proportion of women are excluded from paid work is important to disentangle how existing theories for the developed world apply to more unequal contexts. We carry out OLS regressions using harmonized time-use surveys for Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay to consider the relationship between earnings and housework, in the framework of the dependency, gender deviance neutralization, and autonomy hypothesis. We find that in Latin America, female housework decisions are better associated with women´s absolute earnings. The econometric evidence compatible with the dependence hypothesis, or even with compensatory gender display for some countries, tends to disappear when absolute earnings are considered to understand women’s time devoted to household work. The significance that women´s monetary resources have in shaping intra-household decisions in Latin America offers new evidence to incorporate into policy design, highlighting the crucial links between labor market performance and intrahousehold gender equity in the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Verónica Amarante & Cecilia Rossel, 2021. "Gender differences in housework and earnings: intrahousehold evidence from Latin America," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 21-08, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    • Handle: RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-08-21
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    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/29476
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unpaid family work; Time use; Housework/division of labor; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods

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