Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 44 No. 2 2026
Taxes, Childcare, and Gender Identity Norms
Abstract
We investigate the role of gender norms in shaping parental childcare following changes in the relative take-home pay of mothers and fathers. Exploiting variation from Swedish tax reforms, we estimate the elasticity of substitution in parental childcare for native and immigrant couples from a variety of countries characterized by varying gender norms. Couples originating from countries with relatively conservative norms are more likely to reallocate childcare to mothers following a reduction in the father’s tax rate and less likely to reallocate childcare to fathers following a reduction in the mother’s tax rate, thereby reinforcing a traditional allocation of childcare across parents.
- DOI
- 10.1086/732773
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 553-586
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref