Culture and Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country Characteristics and the Division of Non-Market Work Among US Immigrants

72 Pages Posted: 14 Apr 2020

See all articles by Francine D. Blau

Francine D. Blau

Cornell University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Lawrence M. Kahn

Cornell University - School of Industrial and Labor Relations; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Matthew Comey

Cornell University

Amanda Eng

Cornell University

Pamela Meyerhofer

Cornell University

Alexander Willén

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

There is a well-known gender difference in time allocation within the household, which has important implications for gender differences in labor market outcomes. We ask how malleable this gender difference in time allocation 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 2003-2017 waves of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that first-generation immigrants, both women and men, from source countries with more gender equality (as measured by the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index) allocate tasks more equally, while those from less gender equal source countries allocate tasks more traditionally. These results are robust to controls for immigration cohort, years since migration, and other own and spouse characteristics. There is also some indication of an effect of parent source country gender equality for second-generation immigrants, particularly for second-generation men with children. Our findings suggest that broader cultural factors do influence the gender division of labor in the household.

Keywords: housework, childcare, gender, immigration, time allocation

JEL Classification: J130, J150, J160, J220

Suggested Citation

Blau, Francine D. and Kahn, Lawrence M. and Comey, Matthew and Eng, Amanda and Meyerhofer, Pamela and Willén, Alexander, Culture and Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country Characteristics and the Division of Non-Market Work Among US Immigrants (2020). CESifo Working Paper No. 8195, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3570299 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3570299

Francine D. Blau (Contact Author)

Cornell University - Department of Economics ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/directory/fdb4/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

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German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

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Lawrence M. Kahn

Cornell University - School of Industrial and Labor Relations ( email )

265 Ives Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-3901
United States
607-255-0510 (Phone)
607-255-4496 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Matthew Comey

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

Amanda Eng

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

Pamela Meyerhofer

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

Alexander Willén

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Economics ( email )

Helleveien 30
N-5035 Bergen
Norway

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