The Road to Egalitaria: Sex Differences in Employment for Parents of Young Children

Abstract

In 1985, Gary Becker predicted employment and childcare sex gaps may ‘disappear or be greatly attenuated in the near future.’ In this article, I examine trends in the employment gap between mothers and fathers of young children over the last 40 years. I review theoretical explanations for the gap, then proceed to analyse the gap empirically in data for Canada, the USA, the UK, and Germany. Substantial closing of the gap in the 1970s and 1980s was followed by stability since then. Evidence from Canada finds childcare subsidies have a bigger impact on the gap than parental leave. (JEL codes: J13, J16, J18, J21).

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