Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, and IZA, Germany
IZA World of Labor role
Author
Current position
Professor of Economics, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Research interest
Interaction between market and nonmarket activities: employment decisions, college enrolment patterns, and household production
Website
Positions/functions as a policy advisor
Unemployment insurance trust fund advisor, Virginia State
Past positions
Assistant Professor, University of Arizona
Qualifications
PhD Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989
Selected publications
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“Maids, appliances, and couples’ housework: The demand for inputs to domestic production.” Economica 81:323 (2014): 445–467 (with E. G. F. Stancanelli).
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“The role of preferences and opportunity costs in determining the time allocated to housework.” American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings 102:3 (2012): 606–611.
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“The influence of wages on parents’ allocations of time to child care and market work in the United Kingdom.” Journal of Population Economics 22:2 (2009): 399–419 (with C. M. Kalenkoski and D. C. Ribar).
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“Intrahousehold specialization in housework in the United States and Denmark.” Social Science Quarterly 89:4 (2008): 1023–1043 (with J. Bonke, M. Deding, and M. Lausten).
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“Housework, fixed effects, and wages of married workers.” Journal of Human Resources 32:2 (1997): 285–307 (with J. Hersch).
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The determinants of housework time
Boosting the efficiency of household production could have large economic effects
Leslie S. Stratton, March 2015The time household members in industrialized countries spend on housework and shopping is substantial, amounting on average to about half as much time as is spent on paid employment. Women bear the brunt of this burden, a difference that is driven in part by the gender differential in wages. Efforts to reduce the gender wage gap and alter gendered norms of behavior should reduce the gender bias in household production time and reduce inefficiency in home production. Policymakers should also note the impact of tax policy on housework time and consider ways to reduce the distortions caused by sales and income taxes.MoreLess