Housework gender inequality in Spain: is the sharing of housework within couples solely driven by economic rationality?

Abstract

This paper analyses housework gender inequality in Spain.

Whether the sharing of housework and paid work between husbands and wives is driven purely by economic rationality or whether there are other factors related to gender identity at the root of intra-household gender inequality, remains an open debate. This article assesses the role of the gender deviance neutralization hypothesis and examines whether it overrides the explanatory power of economic exchange theory in the distribution of unpaid housework in Spain. Housework stochastic frontiers are constructed for each partner in heterosexual coresident couples to identify the factors behind inequality.