Who is Happier: The Housewife or Working Wife?

Abstract:     
Earlier research found no difference in the happiness between a housewife and a working wife. However, there now is the expectation that a difference in their happiness exists today given the increase in the labor participation of women over the years. This paper revisits the debate using data from the 2000s. For the upper- and low-income economies, there is still no difference in the happiness between a housewife and a working wife. In contrast, results for the middle-income economies clearly show that a part-time working wife is happier than a housewife and that both part-time working wife and housewife are happier than a full-time working wife.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 26

Keywords: Happiness, life satisfaction, housewife, working wife

JEL Classification: B54, D10, I31, J13

working papers series