Inside the black box of child penalties: Unpaid work and household structure

48 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2019 Last revised: 29 Oct 2022

See all articles by Sandra Aguilar-Gomez

Sandra Aguilar-Gomez

Universidad de los Andes, Colombia - Department of Economics

Eva Arceo-Gomez

Universidad Iberoamericana

Elia De la Cruz Toledo

Loyola Marymount University

Date Written: December 2, 2019

Abstract

Recent work, mostly based on developed countries, has highlighted the negative effects of motherhood on labor market outcomes as a persistent source of gender inequality. In developing countries, the prevalence of extended families and more traditional gender norms, can shift the magnitude and time signature of the child penalties. Using high-frequency data from Mexico, this paper provides the first estimates of child penalties on unpaid work and unveils their extensive and intensive-margin effects on paid work that start at pregnancy. We find that these gendered patterns extend to other women in the household, regardless of their age, reinforcing gender roles. Our results suggest that the presence of other women reduces the time burden of child rearing on parents.

Keywords: Child penalty, Event study, Gender norms, Family structure, Labor outcomes, Mexico

JEL Classification: J12, J13, J16, J22, J31

Suggested Citation

Aguilar-Gomez, Sandra and Arceo-Gomez, Eva and De la Cruz Toledo, Elia, Inside the black box of child penalties: Unpaid work and household structure (December 2, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3497089 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3497089

Sandra Aguilar-Gomez (Contact Author)

Universidad de los Andes, Colombia - Department of Economics ( email )

Carrera 1a No. 18A-10
Santafe de Bogota, AA4976
Colombia

Eva Arceo-Gomez

Universidad Iberoamericana ( email )

Prol. Paseo de la Reforma, #880
Lomas de Santa Fe
Mexico, Distrito Federal 01210
Mexico
55595040004759 (Phone)
01219 (Fax)

Elia De la Cruz Toledo

Loyola Marymount University ( email )

7900 Loyola Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,608
Abstract Views
5,641
Rank
22,714
PlumX Metrics