Taxes, childcare and gender identity norms

Journal article

We investigate the role of gender norms in shaping parental childcare following changes in the relative take-home pay of mothers and fathers. Exploiting variation from Swedish tax reforms, we estimate the elasticity of substitution in parental childcare for native and immigrant couples from a variety of countries characterized by varying gender norms. Couples originating from countries with relatively conservative norms are more likely to reallocate childcare to mothers following a reduction in the father’s tax rate and less likely to reallocate childcare to fathers following a reduction in the mother’s tax rate, thereby reinforcing a traditional allocation of childcare across parents.

Authors: Ichino, A; Olsson, M; Petrongolo, B; Skogma-Thoursie, P

• Publication status: In press
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
• Publication date: 2024-09-09
• Acceptance date: 2024-08-13
• DOI: 10.1086/732773
• EISSN: 1537-5307
• ISSN: 0734-306X
• Language: English