Felix Weinhardt, European University Viadrina - Separate Housework Spheres

Title: Separate Housework Spheres

Abstract: Using novel time-use data from Germany before and after reunification, we document two key findings. First, spouses working full-time exhibit similar housework gaps, whether full-time work is voluntary or mandated, as in the GDR. Second, men's housework participation remains independent of their spouse's labour supply. We explain this pattern theoretically through the presence of two household goods and specialisation due to socially learnt gender-specific comparative advantage, reconciling efficiency- and norm-based accounts. We confirm these ``separate housework spheres'' empirically along the lines of routine/female vs. non-routine/male housework tasks, for East and West Germany pre- and post-reunification and across 17 countries since the 1970s. They can explain child penalties and occupational segregation, as well as the ``shecession'' following COVID-19.

Presenter:  Felix Weinhardt, European University Viadrina

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