A0212
Title: FinTech adoption, Confucian culture norms, and housework division
Authors: Ying Tan - Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (China) [presenting]
Xun Zhang - Beijing Normal University (China)
Zi Yang - Central University of Finance and Economics (China)
Abstract: Empirical evidence on how modern technology applications affect gender inequality in the presence of traditional cultural norms is provided. By combining regional indicators of Confucian cultural norms with representative household-level data on housework division in China, it is found that Confucian cultural norms are associated with increasing gender inequality in the division of housework. Importantly, when the effect of FinTech adoption is incorporated, it is found that it helps reduce the housework time of wives in households strongly influenced by Confucian culture norms, thus reducing the gender gap in housework. In addition, results are robust by using the geographic distance to Hangzhou and the fiber-optic backbone network city as instruments, which can isolate the exogenous variation in FinTech adoption. Mechanism analysis shows that through FinTech's role in increasing consumption and improving housework efficiency, as well as creating new flexible job opportunities and increasing the opportunity cost of housework, a higher level of FinTech adoption helps narrow housework division inequality.
