Children and gender inequality: evidence from Denmark

Henrik Kleven, Camille Landais and Jakob Søgaard

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

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-codes: D63 J13 J16 J22 J31 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2019-10-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (313)

Published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1, October, 2019, 11(4), pp. 181-209. ISSN: 1945-7782

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/102364/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark (2019)
Working Paper: Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark (2018)
Working Paper: Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark (2018)
Working Paper: Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:102364

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