MARRIED WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND THE ACQUISITION OF FAMILY-OWNED HOUSING

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of married women's employment status on acquiring family-owned housing. In postwar Japan, as well as in many other societies, home ownership has been strongly linked with the male breadwinner family model. Over the past two decades, however, Japan has undergone a prolonged period of economic decline, leading to a decrease in male breadwinners with stable incomes and a counter increase in wives participating in the labour market. Consequently, wives' employment status has become more definitive in stratifying family households in terms of entering the owner-occupied housing market.