arbiter
JournalsAccount

Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply

Barbara Boelmann et al.

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20220567article
AJG 4ABDC A*
Weight
0.53

Abstract

We investigate the role of cultural norms in shaping women’s labor supply decisions after childbirth. Specifically, we are interested in the interplay between childhood socialization and adulthood environment. To that end, we leverage the setting of the German reunification when East Germany’s gender-egalitarian culture induced by socialism and West Germany’s more traditional culture were brought together. We find that East German gender norms are persistent, whereas West German ones are not. West German mothers adjust their behavior to that of their East German peers not only when immersed in East German environment but even after returning to the West. (JEL D91, J13, J16, J22, N34, Z13)

8 citations

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20220567

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{barbara2025,
  title        = {{Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply}},
  author       = {Barbara Boelmann et al.},
  journal      = {American Economic Journal: Applied Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20220567},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.53

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.70 × 0.15 = 0.10
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.