Working Paper

Fathers’ Involvement in Childcare Before and During the Great Recession

Published: 2018

Non-Technical Summary:

Gender disparities in Western societies have decreased in recent decades, while social inequality has increased. These patterns have been accentuated since the late 2000s due to the Great Recession. However, most research has focused on tracking gender disparities in labor market outcomes. Little is known about disparities concerning a critical dimension of the intergenerational transmission of advantage: time with children. How have gender and education gaps in time with children evolved during the Great Recession? This study answers this question using rich Spanish time-use data from two different time points: one before the recession (2002-2003) and one during (2009-2010).

I contribute to the literature in three key ways. First, I extend previous US research on economic cycles and paternal childcare involvement to Europe. Spain is an excellent case study to examine the relationship between paternal childcare time and macroeconomic conditions. This is because the labour market in Spain is highly volatile, and more sensitive to business cycles than the labour markets of most OECD countries. Second, I add to the literature by considering changes in paternal involvement over time and across children’s developmental stages. Third, while previous research has revealed a relationship between paternal educational level and time spent with one’s children, this is the first study to evaluate how educational differences relate to macroeconomic conditions.

Findings indicate that the time expenditure gap between mothers and fathers has narrowed in those types of care that were the most gendered –including physically demanding tasks such as changing nappies or feeding children. This reduction is however moderate (50 minutes per week, on average), and was disproportionately driven by families with very young children (<2 years old). In these families, the gap was reduced by 3 hours per week, on average. During the recession, highly educated fathers spent significantly less time than lowly educated fathers in physical care. This suggests that poorly skilled fathers “undid gender” by constrain. There were however no changes over the recession period in differences by paternal education on time spent in developmental care (i.e. cognitively stimulating activities, such as reading or play).

These findings are in line with those from the literature on business cycles and fathers’ involvement in childcare and suggest that fathers reallocate the time freed by the experience of unemployment to childcare. Ultimately, the Great Recession had the effect of reducing gender gaps in time spent with children, and maintaining the educational gaps amongst fathers.

Authors

Centre Friend

Tomás Cano