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Title: Gender Roles and Technological Progress
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2007
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Abstract: Until the early decades of the 20th century, women spent more than 60% of their prime- age yearseither pregnant or nursing. Since then, improved medical knowledge and obstetric practices reducedthe time cost associated with women's reproductive role. The introduction of infant formula also reducedwomen's comparative advantage in infant care, by providing an effective breast milk substitute. Ourhypothesis is that these developments enabled married women to increase their participation in thelabor force, thus providing the incentive to invest in market skills, potentially narrowing gender earningsdifferentials. We document these changes and develop a quantitative model that aims to capture theirimpact. Our results suggest that progress in medical technologies related to motherhood was essentialto generate the significant rise in the participation of married women between 1920 and 1960, in particularthose with children. By enabling women to reconcile work and motherhood, these medical advancementslaid the ground for the revolutionary change in women's economic role.
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Authors: Albanesi, Stefania; Olivetti, Claudia
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Publication Number: 13179
Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
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Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Gender
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