The intergenerational transmission of gender norms-why and how adolescent males with working mothers matter for female labour market outcomes

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4237280
AutoresSophia Schmitz (0000-0002-2346-5754, DIW Berlin—German Institute for Economic Research, Mohrenstraße 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany), C Katharina Spie (0000-0001-5618-912X, DIW Berlin—German Institute for Economic Research, Mohrenstraße 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany), C Katharina Spiess (0009-0000-5932-7022, German Institute for Economic Research, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen20
Número1
Páginas281-322
Fecha de publicación2022-05-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocio-Economic Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ser/mwab023
OpenAlexW3179094689
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas47

Social norms are put forward as a prominent explanation for the changing labour supply decisions of women. This paper studies the intergenerational transmission of these norms, examining how they affect subsequent female labour supply decisions, taking into account not only the early socialization of women but also that of their partner. Using large representative panel data sets from West Germany, results suggest that women with partners who grew up with a working mother are more likely to participate in the labour force, work longer hours and earn higher labour income. The main contribution of our study is that we assess a variety of potential mechanisms for this intergenerational link. We find no evidence that this finding reflects assortative mating; rather, analysis suggests that the partner's preferences are based on their experiences with the employment of their mothers and play a decisive role for the labour supply decision of partnered women. Moreover, we identify various effect heterogeneities, finding stronger associations for women with potentially less bargaining power. Our results suggest that policy measures supporting the labour force participation of today's mothers will increase the female labour force participation of the next generation

Affect (linguistics) · Assortative mating · Bargaining power · Demographic economics · Economics · Labour economics · Labour supply · Population · Socialization · Sociology · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges