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

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