TY - RPRT A1 - Jessen, Jonas A1 - Schmitz, Sophia A1 - Weinhardt, Felix T1 - Immigration, Female Labour Supply and Local Cultural Norms T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - 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. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 1 Y1 - 2022 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-46471 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/bse-discussion-papers ET - No. 1 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Jessen, Jonas A1 - Schweighofer-Kodritsch, Sebastian A1 - Weinhardt, Felix A1 - Berkes, Jan T1 - Separate Housework Spheres T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - Using novel time-use data from Germany before and after reunification, we document two facts: First, spouses who both work full-time exhibit similar housework patterns whether they do so voluntarily or due to a full-time mandate, as in the GDR. Second, men’s amount of housework is independent of their spouse’s labour supply. We theoretically explain this pattern by the presence of two household goods and socially learned gender-specific comparative advantage in their home production. We label this gender specialisation as separate housework spheres. Empirical evidence strongly confirms separate housework spheres in the GDR, West Germany, subsequent years post-reunification, and in international time-use data across 17 countries since the 1970s. We consider several implications, such as those for child penalties, where separate housework spheres provide a novel explanation for why it is the mothers whose labour market outcomes strongly deteriorate upon the arrival of children. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 43 Y1 - 2024 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-55494 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers ET - No. 43 ER -