From patriarchy to partnership: Gender equality and household finance

Luigi Guiso and Luana Zaccaria

Journal of Financial Economics, 2023, vol. 147, issue 3, 573-595

Abstract: We obtain a model-driven measure of gender norms on intra-household financial decision making by leveraging dramatic variation across Italian cohorts and regions in the gender of the household head. We use these estimates to identify the effects of gender parity on household financial decisions. More egalitarian norms increase household participation in financial markets, equity holdings, asset diversification, and returns on investments. This evidence suggests that gender roles can have large economic costs. Consistent with this view, we show that patriarchal norms began receding in the early 1990s, when a pension reform made it too costly to comply with traditional roles.

Keywords: Household finance; Social norms; Gender equality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 G11 G41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Working Paper: From Patriarchy to Partnership: Gender Equality and Household Finance (2023)
Working Paper: From Patriarchy to Partnership: Gender Equality and Household Finance (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:147:y:2023:i:3:p:573-595

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2023.01.002

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