Marriage and Housework

60 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2020

See all articles by Cristina Borra

Cristina Borra

University of Seville

Martin Browning

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics

Almudena Sevilla

Queen Mary, University of London

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 24, 2020

Abstract

This paper provides insights into the gains of forming a couple by estimating how much of the difference in housework between single and married individuals is causal and how much is due to selection. Permanent unobserved heterogeneity explains about half of the observed differences in housework documented in the cross-sectional data. Further ancillary evidence suggests that individuals with a higher preference for marriage also have more traditional views on the division of household labour. There remains a genuine half-an-hour increase per week in housework time for each partner, with women specializing in routine and men in non-routine housework tasks.

Keywords: Marriage, Time use, Home production

JEL Classification: D13, J12, J22

Suggested Citation

Borra, Cristina and Browning, Martin and Sevilla, Almudena, Marriage and Housework (January 24, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3524799 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3524799

Cristina Borra

University of Seville ( email )

Avda. del Cid s/n
E-41092 Sevilla, Sevilla 41004
Spain

Martin Browning (Contact Author)

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics ( email )

Øster Farimagsgade 5
Bygning 26
1353 Copenhagen K.
Denmark
(45) 35-32-30-70 (Phone)
(45) 35-32-30-64 (Fax)

Almudena Sevilla

Queen Mary, University of London ( email )

Mile End Road
London, E1 4NS
United Kingdom

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