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Gender Gaps

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International 10
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Kerwin Charles, University of Chicago

The Impact of Culture on the Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country

Francine D. Blau
,
Cornell University
Lawrence M. Kahn
,
Cornell University
Amanda Eng
,
Cornell University
Pamela Meyerhofer
,
Cornell University
Alexander Willen
,
Norwegian School of Economics

Abstract

There is a well-known gender difference in time allocation within the household. We ask how malleable it is to culture. In particular, we ask if US immigrants allocate tasks differently depending upon the characteristics of the source countries from which they emigrated. Using data from the 2003-2015 American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that first-generation immigrants, both women and men, from more progressive source countries (as measured by the Gender Equity Index) allocate tasks more equally while those from more traditional source countries allocate tasks more traditionally. These results are robust to controls for immigration cohort, years since migration, and partner characteristics. There is some indication of an effect for second generation immigrants, particularly for second generation males with children. Our findings suggest that broader cultural factors do influence the gender division of labor.

Manning Up and Womaning Down: How Husbands and Wives Report Their Earnings When She Earns More

Misty L. Heggeness
,
U.S. Census Bureau
Marta Murray-Close
,
University of Massachusetts

Abstract

Do gendered social norms influence survey reports of “objective” economic outcomes? This paper compares the earnings reported for husbands and wives in the Current Population Survey with their “true” earnings from administrative income-tax records. Estimates from OLS regressions show that survey respondents react to violations of the norm that husbands earn more than their wives by inflating their reports of husbands’ earnings and deflating their reports of wives’ earnings. On average, the gap between a husband’s survey and administrative earnings is 2.9 percentage points higher if his wife earns more than he does, and the gap between a wife’s survey and administrative earnings in 1.5 percentage points lower if she earns more than her husband does. These findings suggest that gendered social norms can influence survey reports of seemingly objective outcomes and that their impact may be heterogeneous not just between genders but also within gender.

The Spousal Wage Boost: Working Together to Beat the Gender Wage Gap

Andrew Langan
,
Princeton University
Betsey Stevenson
,
University of Michigan

Abstract

Individuals who work in the same occupation as their spouse have significantly higher earnings on average than similar people whose spouses work in different occupations. For instance, a lawyer married to a lawyer makes more than an otherwise identical lawyer married to a physician or a teacher. The earnings effect associated with such “same-occupation marriages” is negative for less-educated men but positive for other groups and stronger for women than men. This effect holds throughout the last several decades in cross-sectional US data, and cannot be explained by hours worked, education, self-employment, or other observables.

Employee Autonomy and the Within-Firm Gender Wage Gap: The Case of Trust-Based Work Time

Steffen Viete
,
Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW)

Abstract

We explore how the adoption of trust-based work time affects the gender wage gap (GWG) within German firms. Among common workplace flexibility practices, trust-based work time provides extensive autonomy over the employees' workday structure. While workplace flexibility is often regarded as an important means to foster gender equality in the labor market, its effect on gender pay differentials is ambiguous from a theoretical perspective. Our empirical analysis is based on linked employer-employee panel data, combining firm survey data with administrative data on the universe of all employees liable to social security contributions. Exploiting a sample of firms which initially did not use trust-based work time, we implement a conditional difference-in-differences estimation approach.

Our preliminary results show that the raw within-firm GWG is reduced by 9.6% to 12.3% during the first three years after the adoption of trust-based work time arrangements. We show that the improvement in female relative wages is driven by a positive average treatment effect on female wages, whereas male wages remain unaffected. These results hold when we account for non-random selection of individuals into firms by excluding employees who entered the firm after the adoption of trust-based work times. Exploring possible channels behind these results, we find no treatment effect on the share of females transitioning from part-time to full-time contracts. In contrast, we find a net increase (decrease) in the share of females in jobs with high (medium) skill requirements. Thus, rather than merely facilitating the adjustment of working times, the adoption of trust-based work time seems to support the transition to different jobs and career paths by female employees, which in turn improves their relative wages.
Discussant(s)
Claudia Olivetti
,
Boston College
Martha Bailey
,
University of Michigan
Misty L. Heggeness
,
U.S. Census Bureau
Justin Wolfers
,
University of Michigan
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics