Temporary migrants and gender housework division among left‐behind household members

Abstract

AbstractWe examine whether Vietnamese migrant workers induce a shift in gender roles in housework division among the household members left behind. Using two waves of the Vietnamese Household Living Standard Survey (2006–2008), we apply the first‐difference method and estimate a simple household fixed effects model with instrumental variables for robustness checking. We find that temporary female migrants are associated with a higher probability of undertaking housework by male members left behind and there is a reduction in the gender gap in terms of time spent on chores. However, we find little evidence for a similar reduction in the gender gap when the household size is altered for other reasons.