Three essays on the economics of labour and the family
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This dissertation includes three papers that address various aspects of the economics of labour and the family. The dissertation integrates the discussion on the following issues: (1) the allocation of housework and childcare in Canadian two-earner households (2) the effect of family policy reform on time allocation and labour supply in two-parent families (3) effect of anticipated divorce and divorce duration on male and female labour supply. The first paper Time Allocation Gender Gap in Native-born and Foreign-born Families in Canada focuses on the difference between the housework and childcare share produced by foreign-born husbands compared to Canadian-born husbands. This empirical analysis employs the data from the Canadian General Social Survey. The results show that foreign-born husbands have a lower share of housework and childcare compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. The second paper The effect of Quebec childcare policy change on the labour market outcomes and time distribution in the family analyzes the effect of the childcare policy change that took place in Quebec in 1997-2000. The results show that the introduction of “$5 per day” daycare subsidized by the Quebec government increased the labour supply of married mothers and also affected the allocation of time husbands and wives spend on housework and childcare. The data from this project were drawn from 1996 and 2001 Canadian Census. The third paper Labour supply of Australian men and women before and after divorce studies the changes in the labour supply of men and women before and after divorce. The data for empirical analysis employs 12 waves of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA). The outcome suggests that men and women do not change labour participation and weekly working hours in anticipation of divorce. Women increase labour force participation and weekly hours worked as a result of divorce. Men’s labour supply does not change in response to divorce.