People

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.

Technological and organizational change (T&O) is widely regarded as a key driver behind the decreasing employment share of routine jobs, which typically involve repetitive and prescribed tasks. However, the disappearance of routine jobs does not automatically mean workers in these roles will exit employment and suffer earnings losses—although this scenario often dominates the popular public debate. Even if their current positions are eliminated due to T&O, they may transition to other roles that align with and complement the changes brought about by T&O, either within the same company or at different organizations. Michele Battisti, Christian Dustmann, and Uta Schönberg (2023) (BDS hereafter) provide an in-depth investigation of how firms and workers adapt to T&O in the context of Germany.