The financial crisis 2008-2009 and economic gender equality in Sweden

Abstract: The purpose of my thesis is to examine if the financial crisis 2008-2009 effects economic gender equality in Sweden during (2008-2009) and after (2010-2015) the crisis and if so, how. The purpose is also to analyse if the outcomes are consistent with Gary S. Becker´s theoretical framework the taste discrimination model and the division of labour model. I define economic gender equality by using the variables wage, permanent employment, temporary employment, unemployment and temporary paternal benefits. Wage, temporary employment, permanent employment and unemployment represents the labour market and paid labour. Temporary paternal benefits represent unpaid labour. The analysis is conducted using a Difference in Difference (DiD) estimation approach using panel-data from Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency on all 21 Swedish counties during the time-period 2005-2015. Key findings, assuming that wage is the final outcome on the labour market, are that Becker´s taste discrimination model can be confirmed based on the wage DiD-outcomes during the crisis. However, it can be rejected when analysing the change in wage in proportion to the change in employment. After the crisis, the taste discrimination model can be rejected regardless of how the DiD-outcomes are interpreted. I claim that wage in proportion to employment is a better indicator of economic gender equality and conclude that labour market and paid labour gender equality decrease in both time-periods. Becker´s division of labour model can also be rejected as unpaid labour (temporary paternal benefits) gender equality decrease during and after the crisis regardless of the relative changes on the labour market and in paid labour. As labour market and paid labour and unpaid labour gender equality decrease during and after the crisis, the overall conclusion is that economic gender equality decrease as an effect of the crisis.