Abstract
We examine time allocation decisions in same-sex and different-sex couples from a Beckerian comparative advantage perspective. In particular, we estimate the comparative advantage relationship between time spent on either market or household activities and a dummy for being the highest earner in a couple on samples of same-sex and different-sex couples. Using the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that same-sex couples specialize not as much as different-sex couples. We argue that these specialization differences are driven by the most traditional different-sex couples. Without married couples with wives at home taking care of children and husbands working outside the home, which represent at most 20% of all different-sex couples, we find that the highest earner in a couple spends 80 min more per day on market work and 40 min less per day on household work, regardless their sexual orientation. We therefore conclude that, from a comparative advantage perspective, most same-sex and different-sex couples specialize equally.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101995 |
| Journal | Labour Economics |
| Volume | 77 |
| Early online date | 2021 Apr 26 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This paper draws from Erik Plug’s Presidential Address at the online EALE/SOLE/AASLE meeting June 2020. Conference participants provided valuable feedback. We would like to thank N. Meltem Daysal for insightful comments on an earlier draft. Thomas Hofmarcher acknowledges funding from the Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse for his research visit at the University of Amsterdam. Erik Plug acknowledges funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under grant no. 406.18.EB.002.
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Economics
Free keywords
- Comparative advantages
- Different-sex couples
- Household work
- Market work
- Same-sex couples
- Time allocation