working papers
children, household specialization and relationship quality
joint project with Olatz Román-Blanco (EUI)
Note: This graph plots the event-time dummy coefficients obtained from estimating a dynamic TWFE equation with RQ as an outcome and using the robust estimator proposed by Callaway and Sant'Anna (2023). Confidence intervals are estimated at 95% level. Standard errors are clustered a the couple level. Data source is Understanding Society
ABSTRACT:
We investigate how having children impacts the quality of couples’ relationships, a proxy of the non-material gains from being in a relationship. Using a novel measure of relationship quality (RQ), we perform a dynamic difference-in-differences estimation around the birth of the first child. We find a sharp and lasting decrease in RQ immediately after birth. We attribute this effect to changes in household specialization. Traditional gender-based specialization prevails after birth, regardless of the baseline distribution of tasks within the couple. Leveraging heterogeneous changes in household specialization after birth, we find that couples undergoing larger rearrangements also suffer larger RQ drops.
until the city do us part
joint project with Olatz Román-Blanco (EUI)
Ana Moreno-Maldonado (CUNEF Universidad)
Note: The figure plots the share of couples that break-up every year of relationship tenure in big (orange line) and small (red line) cities. The share is computed using the number of couples that are cohabiting or married in each geographic area with each relative relationship tenure. Cities are classified into small and big areas using population data from the U.K. Census. Data source on geographic location and marital status is Understanding Society
ABSTRACT:
In this project, we exploit geographical differences in marriage markets to unveil the main determinants of relationship quality as well as couple formation and dissolution. Using data for the United Kingdom, we show that big cities are characterized by a larger proportion of singles and by a lower stability of newly formed couples as compared to small cities. However, we also find that the risk of couple dissolution decreases faster in bigger cities and that the relationship quality of couples deteriorates at a slower pace. We then build a dynamic quantitative model of couple formation and dissolution that allows us to account for the endogeneity of location decisions and to quantify the importance of each mechanism in resulting relationship quality.
work in progress
not everyone chips in: Family composition and time allocation
Note: Each bar plots the share of the total housework produced by the family that is done by girls (red bars) and boys (orange bars) at each age. The share is computed by dividing the number of weekly hours that girls and boys spend doing housework by the total number of weekly hours spend by all members of the household.
ABSTRACT:
Every family member has a role in the household. When children are young, parents are the main income and care providers. As children grow, they start to contribute to housework, releasing home responsibilities from their parents. This paper first studies how housework division changes within families as children grow, and how this division differs depending on the sex composition of parents' offspring. Second, I study how households reallocate market and housework time when one of the parents loses unexpectedly her job. Using the longitudinal dimension of my data, I study the long-term consequences of assuming a larger share of household responsibilities on children's gender attitudes and behaviors with their future couples. Finally, I exploit child-age variation in the timing of parental lay-off to understand whether some ages are more critical to the formation of gender attitudes and behaviours.