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IZA Discussion Paper No. 17997
July 2025
Rise in Home Working and Spousal Labor Supply
Mylène Feuillade, Dominique Goux, Eric Maurin

This article explores how an employee’s choice to work from home (WFH) influences his or her spouse’s outcomes. Drawing on the specific features of the French institutions, we show that a spouse’s switch to WFH leads to a sharp increase in the probability that his or her partner will also switch to WFH, as well as in the number of hours worked by the partner. These cross-effects are particularly strong on the better-paid partner within the couple (whether the man or the woman) who appears to condition his or her decision to work from home on that of his or her (less-paid) partner. The effects of WFH on the volume of hours worked are greatly underestimated when spillovers within couples are neglected. On the other hand, we detect no significant effect on partners’ commuting distance, nor on the type of urban unit they choose to live in.

Kommunikation
Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
Netzwerkkoordination
Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

Das IZA@LISER-Netzwerk ist eine weltweite Gemeinschaft für exzellente Forschung in der Arbeitsmarktökonomie und angrenzenden Fachgebieten. Nach dem Wechsel von Bonn wird das Netzwerk nun am Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) koordiniert.

Über das IZA@LISER Network
Contact
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Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
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Maison des Sciences Humaines
L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette / Belval, Luxembourg

IZA Institute (In Liquidation):

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH i. L.
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Phone: +49 228 3894-0 | Fax: +49 228 3894-510
E-Mail: info@iza.org | Web: www.iza.org
Represented by: Martin T. Clemens (Liquidator)