IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/rwirep/472.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Making Dough or Baking Dough? Spousal Housework Responsibilities in Germany, 1992-2011

Author

Listed:
  • Procher, Vivien
  • Ritter, Nolan
  • Vance, Colin

Abstract

Drawing on German household data from 1992 to 2011, this paper analyzes how couples allocate housework against the backdrop of three questions: (1) Does an individual's contribution to household income - both in absolute and relative terms - influence his or her contribution to housework? (2) If so, does the magnitude of this influence differ by gender? and (3) How important are traditional gender roles on housework allocation? We address these issues by applying panel quantile regression models and find that as both the share and absolute level of income increase, the amount of housework undertaken decreases, with the latter effect being roughly equal across genders. At the same time, traditional gender roles also appear to dictate housework allocation, which is evidenced by women increasing their housework if they earn more than their partner.

Suggested Citation

  • Procher, Vivien & Ritter, Nolan & Vance, Colin, 2014. "Making Dough or Baking Dough? Spousal Housework Responsibilities in Germany, 1992-2011," Ruhr Economic Papers 472, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:472
    DOI: 10.4419/86788532
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/93071/1/779446739.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4419/86788532?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Feyrer & Bruce Sacerdote & Ariel Dora Stern, 2008. "Will the Stork Return to Europe and Japan? Understanding Fertility within Developed Nations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 3-22, Summer.
    2. 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.
    3. Leslie S. Stratton, 2012. "The Role of Preferences and Opportunity Costs in Determining the Time Allocated to Housework," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 606-611, May.
    4. 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.
    5. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    6. 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.
    7. Ivan A. Canay, 2011. "A simple approach to quantile regression for panel data," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 14(3), pages 368-386, October.
    8. Lyn Craig & Michael Bittman, 2008. "The incremental time costs of children: An analysis of children's impact on adult time use in Australia," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 59-88.
    9. Chris Klaveren & Bernard Praag & Henriette Maassen van den Brink, 2008. "A public good version of the collective household model: an empirical approach with an application to British household data," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 169-191, June.
    10. Sanjiv Gupta & Michael Ash, 2008. "Whose money, whose time? A nonparametric approach to modeling time spent on housework in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 93-120.
    11. Wencke Gwozdz & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2010. "Explaining Gender Differences in Housework Time in Germany," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 183-200, June.
    12. Sholeh A. Maani & Amy A. Cruickshank, 2010. "What Is The Effect Of Housework On The Market Wage, And Can It Explain The Gender Wage Gap?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 402-427, July.
    13. Koenker, Roger W & Bassett, Gilbert, Jr, 1978. "Regression Quantiles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 33-50, January.
    14. Begoña Álvarez & Daniel Miles, 2003. "Gender effect on housework allocation: Evidence from Spanish two-earner couples," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(2), pages 227-242, May.
    15. Apps, Patricia F & Rees, Ray, 1997. "Collective Labor Supply and Household Production," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 178-190, February.
    16. 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.
    17. Janeen Baxter & Belinda Hewitt, 2013. "Negotiating Domestic Labor: Women's Earnings and Housework Time in Australia," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 29-53, January.
    18. Dominique Anxo & Paul Carlin, 2004. "Intra-family time allocation to housework - French evidence," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 1(1), pages 14-36, August.
    19. Nadim Ahmad & Seung-Hee Koh, 2011. "Incorporating Estimates of Household Production of Non-Market Services into International Comparisons of Material Well-Being," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2011/7, OECD Publishing.
    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. Moberg, Ylva, 2016. "Does the gender composition in couples matter for the division of labor after childbirth?," Working Paper Series 2016:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    2. Moberg, Ylva, 2016. "Does the gender composition in Couples matter for the division of labor after childbirth?," Working Paper Series 2016:8, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

    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. repec:zbw:rwirep:0472 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Vivien Procher & Nolan Ritter & Colin Vance, 2014. "Making Dough or Baking Dough? Spousal Housework Responsibilities in Germany, 1992-2011," Ruhr Economic Papers 0472, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Vivien Procher & Nolan Ritter & Colin Vance, 2018. "Housework Allocation in Germany: The Role of Income and Gender Identity," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(1), pages 43-61, March.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Gigi Foster & Leslie Stratton, 2017. "Do Significant Labour Market Events Change Who Does the Laundry? Work, chore allocation, and power in Australian households," Discussion Papers 2017-06, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    7. Catherine Sofer & Claire Thibout, 2019. "Women’s investment in career and the household division of labour," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(60), pages 6535-6557, December.
    8. Amaia Altuzarra & Catalina Gálvez-Gálvez & Ana González-Flores, 2020. "Do Spanish Dual-Earner Couples Share Unpaid Work Equally?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 731-763, August.
    9. de Bruin, Anne & Liu, Na, 2020. "The urbanization-household gender inequality nexus: Evidence from time allocation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. 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.
    11. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5j2m1g6i7j8pnapkjvifl6e30f is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Sayyid Salman Rizavi & Catherine Sofer, 2010. "Household Division of Labor : Is There Any Escape From Traditional Gender Roles ?," Post-Print halshs-00461494, HAL.
    13. Menta, Giorgia & Lepinteur, Anthony, 2021. "Boys don’t cry (or do the dishes): Family size and the housework gender gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 164-188.
    14. Hélène Couprie & Elisabeth Cudeville & Catherine Sofer, 2020. "Efficiency versus gender roles and stereotypes: an experiment in domestic production," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(1), pages 181-211, March.
    15. Julia Bredtmann, 2014. "The Intra-household Division of Labor: An Empirical Analysis of Spousal Influences on Individual Time Allocation," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 28(1), pages 1-39, March.
    16. Wencke Gwozdz & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2010. "Explaining Gender Differences in Housework Time in Germany," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 183-200, June.
    17. Juliane Hennecke & Astrid Pape, 2022. "Suddenly a stay-at-home dad? Short- and long-term consequences of fathers’ job loss on time investment in the household," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 579-607, June.
    18. Molina, José Alberto & Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Velilla, Jorge, 2018. "Intra-Household Wealth and Welfare Inequality in the US: Estimations from a Collective Model of Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 11707, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Iga Magda & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska & Marta Palczyńska, 2024. "What if She Earns More? Gender Norms, Income Inequality, and the Division of Housework," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 1-20, March.
    20. Begoña Álvarez & Daniel Miles-Touya, 2016. "Time Allocation and Women’s Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1207-1230, December.
    21. 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.
    22. Nazier, Hanan & Ezzat, Asmaa, 2022. "Gender differences and time allocation: A comparative analysis of Egypt and Tunisia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 174-193.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    housework; income; gender; longitudinal study; quantile panel regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • 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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:zbw:rwirep:472. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rwiesde.html .

    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.