Decomposing Culture: An Analysis of Gender, Language, and Labor Supply in the Household

26 Pages Posted: 16 Mar 2017 Last revised: 19 Mar 2017

See all articles by Victor Gay

Victor Gay

Toulouse School of Economics; Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse

Daniel L. Hicks

University of Oklahoma - Department of Economics

Estefania Santacreu-Vasut

ESSEC Business School

Amir Shoham

Temple University - Department of Finance

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Date Written: March 18, 2017

Abstract

Despite broad progress in closing many dimensions of the gender gap around the globe, recent research has shown that traditional gender roles can still exert a large influence on female labor force participation, even in developed economies. This paper empirically analyzes the role of culture in determining the labor market engagement of women within the context of collective models of household decision making. In particular, we use the epidemiological approach to study the relationship between gender in language and labor market participation among married female immigrants to the U.S. We show that the presence of gender in language can act as a marker for culturally acquired gender roles and that these roles are important determinants of household labor allocations. Female immigrants who speak a language with sex-based grammatical rules exhibit lower labor force participation, hours worked, and weeks worked. Our strategy of isolating one component of culture allows us to shed light on several important mechanisms influencing women’s economic engagement, including the role of bargaining power in the household and the impact of ethnic enclaves. Our results further suggest that language may influence behavior in both of these contexts.

Keywords: Language, Gender gap, Labor force participation, Immigrants

JEL Classification: F22, J16, Z13

Suggested Citation

Gay, Victor and Hicks, Daniel Lee and Santacreu-Vasut, Estefania and Shoham, Amir, Decomposing Culture: An Analysis of Gender, Language, and Labor Supply in the Household (March 18, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2931967 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2931967

Victor Gay (Contact Author)

Toulouse School of Economics ( email )

Place Anatole-France
Toulouse Cedex, F-31042
France

HOME PAGE: http://victorgay.me

Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse ( email )

31015 Toulouse, Cedex 6
France

Daniel Lee Hicks

University of Oklahoma - Department of Economics ( email )

729 Elm Avenue
Norman, OK 73019-2103
United States

Estefania Santacreu-Vasut

ESSEC Business School ( email )

3 Avenue Bernard Hirsch
CS 50105 CERGY
CERGY, CERGY PONTOISE CEDEX 95021
France

Amir Shoham

Temple University - Department of Finance ( email )

Fox School of Business and Management
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

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