Full Citation

Title: Commuting to work and gender norms by sexual orientation

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2023

ISBN:

ISSN: 0927-5371

DOI: 10.1016/J.LABECO.2023.102451

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: We assess the role of gender-conforming social norms in household decision-making and gender inequalities in the labor market with a parsimonious household model that endogenizes commuting time. Using the American Community Survey 2008–2019, we test the model predictions and find that women in same-sex couples have a longer commute to work than working women in different-sex couples, whereas the commute to work of men in same-sex couples is shorter than the one of working men in different-sex couples, even after controlling for demographic characteristics, partner's characteristics, location and urbanicity, fertility, marital status, industry and occupation. These differences among men and women amount to a sizable portion of the gender commuting gap estimated in the literature, and are particularly stark among married couples with children. Within-couple gaps in commuting time are also significantly smaller in same-sex couples, and labor supply disparities mimic the commuting ones. According to our model, these differences are interpreted as gender-conforming social norms leading women in different-sex couples into jobs with a shorter commute and fewer hours worked while their male partners or spouses hold jobs with a longer commute and more hours worked, thus reinforcing gender inequalities.

Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537123001264

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Authors: Oreffice, Sonia; Sansone, Dario

Periodical (Full): Labour Economics

Issue:

Volume: 85

Pages: 1-16

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Population Mobility and Spatial Demography

Countries: