Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/52007 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5636
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study examines if couples time their work hours and how this work timing influences child care demand and the time that spouses jointly spend on leisure, household chores and child care. By using a innovative matching strategy, this studies identifies the timing of work hours that cannot be explained by factors other than the partners' potential to communicate on the timing of their work. The main findings are that couples with children create less overlap in their work times and this effect is more pronounced the younger the children. We find evidence for a togetherness preference of spouses, but only for childless couples. Work timing also influences the joint time that is spent on household chores, but the effect is small. Finally, work timing behavior affects the demand for informal child care, but not the demand for formal child care.
Subjects: 
labor supply
work timing
time allocation
JEL: 
D13
I31
J12
J22
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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