Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Dan Wheatley and Zhongmin Wu 
Title: Work, Inequality, and the Dual Career Household
Abstract: Dual career households have the potential to be the most egalitarian of all households. However, while paid
work is increasingly distributed evenly between career men and women, household time remains a social
constraint for many women. This paper considers the distribution of work among dual career households, using
weekly time-use trends, reflecting on the fit of household models and the effectiveness of current work-focused
policy. Descriptive analysis, random-effects probit regression, and case households provide an empirical focus
on a post-industrial economy - the UK - using the 1993-2009 British Household Panel Survey. Long hours,
especially overtime, persist in managerial and professional occupations. Meanwhile, housework burdens women
with up to fourteen hours of additional work per week. Preferences for shorter hours remain greater among
women, reflecting the impact of household time on paid work. The evidence presented in this paper suggests
that the distribution of household labor renders dual career households less than egalitarian.
File-URL: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/310274/Work-inequality-and-the-dual-career-household.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2011
Creation-Date: 2011-07
Classification-JEL: J16, J22
Keywords: Dual career households, time-use, equality, work-time, household time
Handle: RePEc:nbs:wpaper:2011/03