American Economic Journal Applied Economics· 2019Q1
Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark
- 965citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2019year
Short summary
Children cause a persistent 20% gender earnings gap in Denmark, driven by reduced hours, participation, and wages, with this 'child penalty' increasingly responsible for overall gender inequality over recent decades.
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Key points
- Children create a long-run gender earnings gap of approximately 20% in Denmark.
- The gap is driven by reduced hours worked, participation, and wage rates.
- Child penalties increasingly explain gender inequality over the last three to four decades.
- Child penalties are transmitted from parents to daughters, impacting gender identity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Using Danish administrative data, we study the impacts of children on gender inequality in the labor market. The arrival of children creates a long-run gender gap in earnings of around 20 percent driven by hours worked, participation, and wage rates. We identify mechanisms driving these “child penalties” in terms of occupation, sector, and firm choices. We find that the fraction of gender inequality caused by child penalties has featured a dramatic increase over the last three to four decades. Finally, we show that child penalties are transmitted through generations, from parents to daughters, suggesting an influence of childhood environment on gender identity. (JEL D63, J13, J16, J22, J31, J71)
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 2019 · DOI ↗
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Field: Gender Studies
Gender StudiesSocial Sciences