Gender Identity and Womens' Supply of Labor and Non-Market Work: Panel Data Evidence for Germany

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract This paper aims to verify results of the innovative study on gender identity for the USA by Bertrand et al. (2015) for Germany. They found that women who would earn more than their husbands distort their labor market outcome in order not to violate traditional gender identity norms. Using data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP) we also find that the distribution of the share of income earned by the wife exhibits a sharp drop to the right of the half, where the wife's income exceeds the husband's income. The results of the fixed effects regression confirm that gender identity has an impact on the labor supply of full time working women, but only in Western Germany. We also show that gender identity affects the supply of housework but in contrast to the US where women increase their contribution to non-market work when they actually have a higher income than their husbands, we find for Germany that women only barely reduce their weekly hours of non-market work once their income exceeds that of their husbands. Terms of use: Documents in

Gender identity and female labour supply in Brazil

“…Our results are consistent with the recent literature on gender identity that is beginning to flourish (Bertrand et al 2015;Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg 2015;Wieber and Holst 2015). This paper belongs, therefore, to a recent research agenda that brings an empirical basis to the concept of identity brought to economics by Akerlof and Kranton (2000), especially when it refers to gender inequality.…”

“…This suggests the existence of an aversion to the situation in which the wife earns more than her husband, as proposed by Bertrand et al (2015). The pattern present in Brazil is similar to the one found by Bertrand et al (2015) for the United States and by Wieber and Holst (2015) for Germany. This result suggests that gender identity is an important factor when it comes to understanding marriage formation and to explaining the shape of relative income distribution within households.…”

“…Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg (2015), regarding Sweden, do not find this break in the distribution of households' relative income. Wieber and Holst (2015) have also analysed labour supply of married women, but did not find results similar to those presented by Bertrand et al (2015) for the United States.…”

“…After this first empirical test of the identity theory in economics, Wieber and Holst (2015) and Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg (2015) have replicated the analysis in two high-income countries: Germany and Sweden, respectively. For Germany, Wieber and Holst (2015) find the same shape of the distribution of relative income, with a discontinuity when the woman earns more than the man in the marriage. Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg (2015), regarding Sweden, do not find this break in the distribution of households' relative income.…”

Social norms and female labor participation in Brazil

“…After this first empirical test of the identity theory in economics, Wieber and Holst () and Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg () have replicated the analysis in two high‐income countries: Germany and Sweden, respectively. For Germany, Wieber and Holst () find the same shape of the distribution of relative income, with a discontinuity when the woman earns more than the man in the marriage. Hederos Eriksson and Stenberg (), regarding Sweden, do not find this break in the distribution of households’ relative income.…”