From patriarchy to partnership: Gender equality and household finance

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.