Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

No 1/2008: Care for sick children as a proxy for gender equality in the family

Rickard Eriksson () and Magnus Nermo ()
Additional contact information
Rickard Eriksson: Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Postal: SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Magnus Nermo: Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Postal: SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: Swedish parents are entitled to government paid benefits to take care of sick children. In this paper we show that the gender distribution of paid care for sick children is a good proxy for the gender division of household work. Using two examples we show that registry data on care for sick children is a useful data source for studies on gender equality. Our first example shows that increased effort at work by one spouse leads to a lower effort in household work for this spouse, and a higher effort at home for the other spouse. Our second example provides some evidence for a procyclical pattern in gender equality.

Keywords: gender equality; time use; household work; unemployment; business cycles

JEL-codes: E32; J12; J16

32 pages, February 18, 2008

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WP08no1.pdf PDF-file 

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