The Italian Couples' Division of Labour after a Birth: Do Gender Attitudes Matter?

The aim of this study is to assess the gender attitudes influence on the partners’ allocation of both paid and unpaid work hours when they experienced the transition to parenthood. To this purpose, we use a cluster-based classification of couples according to gender attitudes. The classification gives dummies that are added as explanatory variables in a Difference-in-Differences estimation procedure. We adjust for endogeneity of fertility on working activities by introducing a specific instrumental variable. For the empirical analysis we use data on Italian married and cohabiting couples provided by the Istat Multipurpose Panel Survey in the years 2003 and 2007.