11:00-12:15
Libertad Gonzalez, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Barcelona School of Economics
Fathers’ Time-Use while on Paternity Leave: Childcare or Leisure?
Abstract:
We provide evidence of fathers’ time-use during paternity leave by studying the timing of paternity leave spells around a large sports event with strong male following: the 2022 Soccer World Cup. We use administrative data from Spain, a country with generous paternity leave policies and a strong following of soccer competitions. Our data cover the universe of paternity (and maternity) leave spells, and we exploit the exact dates of the 2022 World Cup in a difference-in-differences framework. We show that, during the exact dates of the Qatar World Cup (November 20-December 18, 2022), there was a daily excess of more than 1,000 men on paternity leave (1.3%), relative to the surrounding dates, and using the year before and after as controls (for seasonality). We also show in triple-differences specifications that this excess is not present in maternity leave spells, or in paternity leave spells among self-employed workers (with much more flexible schedules). We interpret these results as direct evidence that (at least a fraction of) fathers use paternity leave for purposes unrelated to childcare.
12:30-13:00
Carolina Biliotti, IMT School for Advanced Studies
Breaking New Ground, Reinforcing Old Gaps: Gender Disparities in Access to Emerging Research Frontiers
Abstract:
This study exploits COVID-19 as an exogenous shock in biomedical research to show how the emergence of an unexpected new research topic exacerbates gender bias in key authorship positions of scientific publications relevant to new research topics (e.g. Vaccines, Epidemiology). We determine author’s gender based on the names listed on their scientific publications and analyze the changes in the composition of the scientific teams after the COVID-19 outbreak. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach, we find that although the share of female authorship has increased overall, women are less likely to be first or last authors (the most prestigious positions) on COVID-19-related research papers and more likely to be found in middle author positions. Stay-at-home mandates, the journal importance and funding opportunities do not fully account for the decline of women in key author positions. The main difference in first authorship is due to the composition of the team and the experience of the lead authors in COVID-19 related research. First authorship by women declined after teams of novices emerged, where lead authors have no prior experience in COVID-related research. Discretionality in first-author appointments for newcomers, combined with high pressure to publish quickly, may have led to discriminatory biases. Conversely, there may also be differences in risk-taking attitudes in doing research in unfamiliar domains. Monitoring gender inequality in scientific production is crucial for reducing gender inequalities and for implementing timely policies that ensure equal access to emerging research topics.
13:00 -13:30
Merve Derebasoglu, European University Institute
Higher Education and Female Labor Supply: Evidence from a Large Scale Expansion Policy
Abstract:
This paper investigates the causal impact of higher education on female employment by leveraging the expansion of higher education in Turkey as a natural experiment. Our results demonstrate that increased educational attainment significantly boosts women’s paid employment; however, the gains in high-skilled employment are limited. To understand the channels driving these high returns to employment despite modest high-skilled gains, we find strong evidence that higher education leads to substantial improvements in job quality, including access to secure and stable employment. These findings align with existing literature, which highlights women’s preference for job security and favorable working conditions as key factors influencing their labor market participation. Additionally, we provide suggestive evidence of non-pecuniary benefits of education, such as delaying marriage and increasing bargaining power within the household. These gains enhance women’s autonomy and reduce social and cultural barriers to employment, underscoring the broader role of education in empowering women both economically and socially.
14:30-15:45
Marion Goussé, CREST - ENSAI
Culture, marriage, and labor supply
Abstract:
In this paper, we compare and contrast East and West Germany after reunification in 1989 in terms of marriage sorting by education, wages and cultural preferences, and in terms of male and female time uses (wage work, leisure and housework). We develop a search-matching/Nash bargaining model of marriage formation and divorce, and intra-household resource allocation. The model parameters are independent of the region of Germany, conditional on individual wages, education, and cultural preferences (attitudes, activities and religion), whose distributions are assumed to be exogenous and gender- and region-specific. The model fits the data very well. We then use the estimated model to measure how much of the observed differences between East and West (time uses and marriage sorting) are due to differences and changes in education, wages and cultural identity. Cultural identity is found to be the main factor before education and wages. It explains half of differences in time uses and marriage sorting on observables between East and West. Identity also interacts with education and wages.
16:00 -16:30
Alexander Ludwig, European University Institute
Heterogeneous Fecundity and Beliefs: Aggregate Implications for Egg Freezing, Fertility, and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes
Abstract:
In almost all developed economies, aggregate fertility rates are below replacement levels and also lower than desired fertility. We investigate the role of biased fertility beliefs, in particular overestimation at younger ages, for these differences and ask whether assisted reproductive technologies may increase fertility. Based on qualitative insights from a theoretical model on the non-trivial interactions between biased beliefs, labor productivity and preferences for children, we develop and calibrate a quantitative life-cycle model with biased beliefs and learning of objective fertility probabilities. As counterfactual experiments we will use the model to evaluate how information policies that aim at reducing belief biases affect aggregate fertility outcomes, how the effectiveness of these policies compare to more conventional policies such as childcare subsidies, and how decreasing costs and better accessibility of egg-freezing and in-vitro fertilization matter for aggregate fertility outcomes.
16:30-17:00
Olatz Roman Blanco, European University Institute
The Geography of Jobs and Couple Migration
Abstract:
This paper studies how joint geographic constraints induced by partners’ occupations influence couples’ migration decisions. Using novel measures of geographic concentration and overlap of occupations, I find that highly concentrated occupations significantly limit couples’ ability to relocate, although this is mitigated by the geographic overlap of partners’ occupations. Additionally, I explore gender differences in occupational choices, showing that women, particularly college educated women, have increasingly selected into more geographically concentrated occupations. A shift-share decomposition reveals that the sharp decline in couple migration over the last few decades is primarily due to changes in migration patterns within different couple types rather than shifts in their composition.