Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations

Michael C Burda (1) , Daniel S Hamermesh (2) , Philippe Weil (3)

1 Institut für Wirtschaftstheorie
2 CWGS - Center for Women's and Gender Studies
3 OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po)

Time-diary data from 27 countries show a negative relationship between GDP per capita and gender differences in total work--for pay and at home. In rich non-Catholic countries men and women average about the same amount of total work. Survey results show scholars and the general public believe that women work more. Widespread average equality does not arise from gender differences in the price of time, intra-family bargaining or spousal complementarity. Several theories, including ones based on social norms, might explain these findings and are consistent with evidence from the World Values Surveys and microeconomic data from Australia and Germany.

Keywords: time use ∙ gender differences ∙ household production

Domains: Economics and Finance

Michael C Burda, Daniel S Hamermesh, Philippe Weil. Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations. 2012. ⟨hal-01070284⟩