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Efficiency versus gender roles and stereotypes: an experiment in domestic production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Hélène Couprie ,
Elisabeth Cudeville Open the ORCID record for Elisabeth Cudeville [Opens in a new window]  and
Catherine Sofer
Hélène Couprie*
Affiliation:
University of Cergy-Pontoise, 33 bd du Port, 95011 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex, France
Elisabeth Cudeville*
Affiliation:
CES, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 106-112 bd de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
Catherine Sofer*
Affiliation:
CES-PSE, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 106-112 bd de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
*
helene.couprie@gmail.com
elisabeth.cudeville@univ-paris1.fr
catherine.sofer@univ.paris1.fr
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Abstract

Empirical studies cast doubt on the efficiency assumption made in standard economic models of household behavior. In couples, the allocation of time between activities remains highly differentiated by gender. In this paper we examine whether couples deviate from efficiency in household production, using an experimental design. We compare the allocation of gendered vs. gender-neutral domestic tasks. Our results show that women in the household overspecialize in “feminine tasks” and men in “masculine tasks” compared to what their comparative advantage would require, hence revealing the influence of gender roles and stereotypes on the couples’ behavior.

Keywords

Social normsStereotypesGender rolesHousehold modelsGender inequalities

JEL classification

D13: Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation C91: Laboratory, Individual Behavior J22: Time Allocation and Labor Supply C92: Laboratory, Group Behavior J16: Economics of Gender • Non-labor Discrimination
Type
Original Paper
Information
Experimental Economics , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 181 - 211
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Economic Science Association

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-019-09612-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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