Time Use during the Great Recession: Men’s Time on Childcare

Marina M. Gorsuch, Duke University

In this paper, I examine the time men spent on childcare during the Recession of 2008-2009. The Great Recession provides a sudden and concentrated change in the employment opportunities of men relative to women. Using the American Time Use Survey and the linked Current Population Survey survey (N=24,311), I show that this lopsided shock to employment opportunities was accompanied by a sharp increase in the amount of time men spent on childcare. In particular, men increased the time they spent on physical care for children, an element of childcare that men have historically performed much less than women.