Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/215373 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12977
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper aims to shed new light on explanations for the sexual division of labour, within a broader examination of within-household specialisation. We propose a set of indices which we believe are the first direct within-couple measures of specialisation. We use these to present a rich descriptive profile of specialisation. Absolute advantage in market work has only a small role in behaviour for heterosexual couples, and no role at all for same-sex couples. In contrast, sex-based specialisation is much greater. We consider whether the patterns in the data are consistent with a formal Beckerian model of comparative advantage. A woman would need to be 109 times more productive in market work than her male partner before reaching expected parity in domestic work, and this is likely biased downwards due to endogeneity of relative wages related to earlier time use decisions.
Subjects: 
sexual division of labour
family economics
specialisation
gender
time use
JEL: 
D13
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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