Are spousal labor supplies substitutes? evidence from the workweek reduction policy in China

摘要

We estimate the effects of spousal labor supply on individuals' labor supply by using the implementation of China's 1994-1995 workweek reduction policy as a natural experiment. We find that a decrease in the labor supply of wives significantly increased that of husbands, but a decrease in the labor supply of husbands had an insignificantly negative effect on that of their wives. Furthermore, a decrease in the labor supply of one spouse reduced the amount of time spent on housework by the other one. Our findings on the negative relationship between spousal labor supplies differ from those derived from data from developed countries. We find evidence that different income levels may be the underlying reason.