Direkt zum Inhalt

Immigration, Female Labour Supply and Local Cultural Norms

Referierte Aufsätze Web of Science

Jonas Jessen, Sophia Schmitz, Felix Weinhardt

In: The Economic Journal 134 (2024), 659, S. 1146–1172

Abstract

We study the local evolution of female labour supply and cultural norms in West Germany in reaction to the sudden presence of East Germans who migrated to the West after reunification. These migrants grew up with high rates of maternal employment, whereas West German families mostly followed the traditional breadwinner-housewife model. We find that West German women increase their labour supply and that this holds within households. We provide additional evidence on stated gender norms, West-East friendships, intermarriage, and child care infrastructure. The dynamic evolution of the local effects on labour supply is best explained by local cultural learning and endogenous child care infrastructure.

Felix Weinhardt

Research Associate in the Public Economics Department



JEL-Classification: J16;J21;D1
Keywords: Cultural norms, local learning, gender, immigration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/uead097

The replication package for this paper is available at
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10047350

keyboard_arrow_up