Time allocation of daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law in India: The role of education

Abstract

The paper addresses the under-researched topic of intrahousehold dynamics of female in-laws in developing countries by focusing on the bargaining between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and its influence on the latter’s time allocation. Using the first nationally representative Time Use Survey of India, 2019, the paper answers two questions. First, how does the presence of the parents-in-law, particularly the mother-in-law, shape the daughter- in-law’s distribution of time between paid and unpaid activities? Second, how does the relative bargaining power among the female in-laws, where their education levels are used as indicators of bargaining power, affect the daughter-in-law’s time allocation across different activities? The findings show that the presence of the mother- in-law in the family is associated with an increase in the daughter-in-law’s participation in paid employment. The daughter-in-law allocates more time to paid employment and less time to household production when her mother-in-law is present. The association is evident for the daughters-in-law who co-reside with mothers-in-law who have completed at least secondary education. The mother-in-law’s time allocated to household production and childcare increases when she co-resides with a daughter-in-law who has completed tertiary education. The father-in-law’s presence is associated with a fall in the daughter-in-law’s engagement in paid employment and he increases both women’s time spent on household production. Heterogeneity in results is observed by the extent of patriarchy in the state of residence. The results suggest that policies that aim to increase women’s education can enhance the daughter-in-law’s intrahousehold bargaining power leading to more balanced time allocations within the family. JEL Classification: J22, J16, D13