Lisa Giddings

Birth Cohort and the Specialization Gap Between Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

We examine differences in household specialization between same-sex and different-sex couples within and across three birth cohorts: Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. Using three measures of household specialization, we find that same-sex couples are less likely than their different-sex counterparts to exhibit a high degree of specialization. However, the “specialization gap” between same-sex and different-sex couples narrows across birth cohorts. These findings are indicative of a cohort effect. Our results are largely robust to the inclusion of a control for the presence of children and for subsets of couples with and without children. We provide three potential explanations for why the specialization gap narrows across cohorts. First, different-sex couples from more recent birth cohorts may have become more like same-sex couples in terms of household specialization. Second, social and legal changes may have prompted a greater degree of specialization within same-sex couples relative to different-sex couples. Last, the advent of reproductive technologies, which made having children easier for same-sex couples from more recent birth cohorts, could result in more specialization in such couples relative to different-sex couples.

The Commodification Of Lone Mothers' Labor: A Comparison Of Us And German Policies

Drawing on Gøsta Esping-Andersens concept of commodification of labor, as well as on its feminist critiques, this paper looks at policy effects on lone mothers in the US and in Germany. With increasing labor market participation rates among lone mothers in the US following welfare reform and in Germany following unification, the authors conclude that the changes derive from different policies and incentive structures related to the state of commodification of labor in each country. In the former East Germany, the policy regime of generous childcare benefits enabled the commodification of womens labor, while in West Germany, the established policy regime was dominated by a strong, voluntary commodification of womens labor, particularly that of lone mothers. In contrast, US policy has been characterized by its greater degree of precommodification of womens labor, which was followed, after the welfare reform of 1996, by the enforced commodification of womens labor.

Political Economy and the Construction of Gender: The Example of Housework Within Same-Sex Households

In order to successfully use gender as a structure of constraint, I posit that the concept of gender be expanded from dichotomous categories of masculine and feminine to a continuum where agents are motivated and constrained by characteristics within the two extremes. Further we must explore specific origins and attributes of gender - its relationship to sexuality, its dynamic nature and the significance of socio-historical context. Households consisting of same-sex couples provide an interesting case for examining the relationship between gender and the division of labor. Theoretical and empirical predictions claim that the lack of gender differentiation within such households results in inefficiencies, equality or gender-neutrality. In contrast, initial research on the division of labor within lesbian households indicates that lesbian couples employ a variety of different divisions of labor. One implication is that lesbian couples exhibit gendered patterns of relations. Same-sex households provide an avenue to expand our understanding of gender itself and the nature of the relationship between gender and the sexual division of labor.

Has the shift toward markets hurt ethnic minorities

Relies on cross‐sectional survey data from 1986 and 1993 to explain an increase in the ethnic Turk‐ethnic Bulgarian earnings differential in Bulgaria in the country’s early transition. Empirical evidence indicates that the ethnic Turks closed both the gap in the number of years of education and experience acquired during this time. Further, the Turks began to enter the growing commerce and transportation industries in the early transition. Shifts in the wage structure, however, favored the ethnic Bulgarians, and these changes outweighed ethnic Turk gains in the measured characteristics. In addition to these shifts, an increase in the overall level of inequality in the labor market punished those at the low‐end of the wage distribution, exacerbating the existing ethnic earnings differential. These results imply however, that the ethnic Turks are responding to market signals and if it continues, this trend will diminish the ethnic earnings gap.

Decline in pre-school use in post-socialist societies: the case of Bulgaria

Child care is often analysed in its role as facilitator of womens labour-force participation. However, for pre-school-aged children, child care can also contribute in important ways to human-capital development, especially among poor children. By international standards, pre-school enrolments were high under socialism. Since transition, however, enrolment rates have declined. This may leave large numbers of children without the preparation necessary to succeed in school and to be included in the regions post-socialist development. We examine the changing dynamics of preschool enrolment in Bulgaria. We evaluate demand and supply-side explanations for changing enrolments and use municipal-level data to develop a simple model of demand. We examine the impact of changing employment and earnings, proximity and perceived quality of child-care centres, as well as ethnic/cultural background. Through this model, we hope to broaden understanding of preschool enrolment decisions, and to assist policymakers in improving pre-school attendance.

Earning Like a Woman: Salaries versus Marginal Revenue Products in the AAGBPL and MLB: 1947-1952

This article exploits heretofore unexplored data from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that existed in the United States from 1943 to 1954 to measure and compare the economic loss to male and female professional baseball players. While female ballplayers earned a fraction of male salaries, they captured nearly twice as much of the revenues that they generated, indicating a smaller degree of exploitation. We hypothesize that in addition to the difference in structures of the two leagues, reservation wages explain the large difference in exploitation rates between the male and female players.

CAN GREATER ATTENTION TO WOMEN'S RIGHTS HELP ADDRESS INCOME INEQUALITY?: INCOME INEQUALITY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

We investigate the relationship between womens economic, social, and political rights with the level of income inequality. We use dynamic panel estimation to check our hypothesis that that strong rights for women translate into higher participation in economic productive activities, improve income and education and support for future generations, thus reducing the overall income inequality in the economy. We further look at how a countrys overall economic performance and the status of womens education alter the relationship. The relationship is strengthened if countries are either in the higher‐income spectrum or have higher levels of female educational attainment.