Marketization of Production and the US-Europe Employment Gap / Richard B. Freeman, Ronald Schettkat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Freeman, Richard B.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Schettkat, Ronald.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8797.

NBER working paper series no. w8797

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Home labor Germany.

Home labor United States.

Labor demand Germany.

Labor demand United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2002.

Summary:

Women work much more in the US than in Germany and most other EU economies. We find that the US-German employment gap is not strongly related to cross-country differences in the level of pay or social benefits. The difference in employment is due to the different marketization of activities between the two economies: German women work as many hours as US women when we consider time spent in household production as well as in market production. For instance, German women spend more time preparing meals while US women use take-out and restaurants more intensely. The organization of some social activities, such as schooling, and the dispersion of skills, as well as pay differences, affect the degree of marketization.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2002.